Prophecy and Destiny
by Mutt N. Feathers
Summary: Ellie and Sirius have taken the children away, as they unravel the mystery of little Ainsley's heritage they must also prepare Harry for what is to come. The continuation of "Knots", please read first.
1. Chapter 1

**Prophecy and Destiny**

**Chapter 1:**

**Regrets of an Old Man**

The man paced in his chambers, his glasses low on his nose, his feet scuffling against the floor as he paced back and forth across the narrow carpet that laid upon the stone base of the room. His hands shook as he held the parchment that had just arrived, what he was reading was shocking and disheartening. He had been at their wedding only months ago, had stood for them as they adopted the boy, and now they had taken him away.

The old man slouched into an overstuffed chair that was in the corner, continuing to read on, where they told him in no uncertain that he was to neither try to find them, or ever attempt to get a message to them. There were people who knew where the family had gone, but they would never be betrayed. The parchment fell from his hands and floated to the floor.

It was the last paragraph that haunted him the most, in the delicate script of the woman, the old man, her former teacher and friend, was told that she knew what he had done and how it had caused the devastation in the lives of her and her family. She never planned to forgive him, and he should not expect it.

The signatures of his former students were at the bottom, their new names, the ones that reflected their recent marriage, and it caused the man to want to weep. He knew of the betrayal to which she spoke. He had thought that he was doing the correct thing at the time, and he wasn't sure that even knowing what he did now, that he would have changed his mind in the matter.

He cradled his head in his hands and sighed, he wanted to know where they went, that they were safe. They had taken with them the boy, not just a boy -- their boy -- he was rightfully their son now. Their son was the key to the peace of the future, and they knew this, he supposed that was why they had taken him. Like any parents, they wanted to see their son grow and be happy and to live a long life.

Then their was their new baby girl, she was...if what was said about her was true, then she would be even more important than her brother was in the matters to come ahead. The old man now regretted that he did not pay more attention to the old ways, the old magic, the old faith. He'd abandoned it in his youth, when his world had fallen apart. To take part in the feast days and keep the old ways reminded him too much of the family that he had lost, the family that he had destroyed. If he had kept up with it, he would have recognized what she was even before she was born. They had taken her too, keeping her out of the reach of those who would hurt her, but also out of his reach as well. He was shrewd enough to recognize that to the parents, both parties were one in the same -- people who could hurt their children.

He heard the statue at the bottom of his stairwell slide over, and footsteps on the stairs to his quarters. He turned his head as the heavy wooden door opened and his deputy and friend entered the room, parchment in her hand as well.

"Albus, you don't really think that they are gone, do you?" Minerva McGonagall asked in a pained and hurried voice.

"I think that is exactly what they did, Minerva. There are only a few who I can think of who might know where they have gone to. I have summoned Mr. Lupin, Ms. de Montmorency, Ms. Bones and Mr. Weasley. I believe that they are the only ones that they truly trusted toward the end," Albus Dumbledore responded. He looked off into the distance, wondering when exactly it was that he fell out of favor with them.

"But Albus, how could they take Harry, without telling you?" Albus met her gaze and sighed sadly.

"Because they are his parents, and they were doing what they thought was best." The resignation to this new situation was settling upon him. Another set of footsteps on the stairs alerted them to the impending arrival of another. When Amelia Bones entered the room, she carried with her an air of confidence and authority that surprised both of the professors. This young woman had truly come into her own the last few years, and was quickly rising within the ranks of the Magical Law Enforcement offices. Her understanding of Wizarding law was impressive and imposing.

"Amelia, I do hope you have some idea of where they have gone and how we can get in touch with them?" Minerva asked her.

"I know where they have gone, but I have no intention of telling you. I will not betray their trust," she said calmly and with an even tone.

"Why?" Albus prodded.

"Because they told me not to and the reasons why. They want to keep their children safe and give them a carefree childhood. I can assure you that they are quite safe, that they are happy and that they have no regrets about the choices that they have made."

Albus sighed and rubbed his temples. He could tell from her tone and attitude that he would be getting nothing from Ms. Bones today. "Fine, perhaps the others that I have summoned here will give me more information."

"None of them are coming, sir," Amelia announced, and both professors looked at her in stunned surprise.

"What do you mean, none of them are coming? How did you know who I would have summoned?" Albus demanded. He was not used to begin denied information when he asked for it.

"Sir," Amelia started, "it would be obvious that you would summon those who were closest to them. When your summons arrived, Arthur came to my office, and I told him that I had received your request as well, and that I would handle this for the both of us. I also assume that you tried to reach Grace and Remus, but you won't find them either. They have both gone with the Potter-Black family."

"Remus and Grace are gone too?" Minerva nearly cried at the thought, she slid herself down onto the settee by the fireplace. "Albus, why would they all leave? What happened?"

Albus Dumbledore said nothing, he just went to the window and looked out at the lush green of the lawns below. When he had no reply to her question, Amelia decided to speak up.

"Both of the children had threats made against them within days of their wedding. Ellie and Sirius couldn't imagine living like this. They researched the prophecy regarding Harry and then found one about their little girl as well. It was too much, so they decided that the entire family would be safer outside of the country. This was well planned on their part. They wanted a fresh start, they needed it."

"Amelia, do you think that they will come back?" Minerva asked her.

"They don't have any plans to return. They do not see their future being here in Britain," Amelia replied.

"Even when Harry is supposed to start at Hogwarts? We have trained ever member of the Potter family for the last 700 years? How could they think of keeping him out of school, especially with what he needs to do?" Minerva pleaded.

"I don't have the answers to those questions. Perhaps it is only time that will tell," Amelia answered her.

The room was quiet, and by the window the old man felt defeated and hopeless. Without Harry, he wasn't sure that he would stop the darkness that would once again ravage his country. A lone tear fell down his cheek at the loss and regret in his heart.

Miles away, the warm summer sun heated the grounds on the farm of the Potter-Black Family in Ceneselli, Italy. Harry was running though the grass that was behind the main house, while his mother and father walked not far behind. Nestled in her father's arms, little Ainsley, now four months old, slumbered as they walked.

"I would have loved to have been a fly on that wall this morning," Ellie sighed as they strolled. "I doubt that he took it well."

"I doubt that he did either, dear," Sirius responded. "Are you happy, love?"

"I am deliriously happy, my dear husband. We have a beautiful new home, orchards that are ready to bear fruit, berries ready to be picked from the bushes, plans to build a greenhouse so that I will always have my botanicals at hand. We are together and married, our children are with us, and they are most importantly, safe." The woman concluded, continuing to walk along in the grass. "Harry, don't get too far ahead, you don't know the property yet." She called out to her son who had nearly hit the vineyard beyond.

"Yes, Ellie, I not go too far," the boy yelled, still running and laughing in the wind.

The couple walked in silence for a while longer, until they caught up with the energetic three year old.

"So, did you pick a place for your play yard?" Sirius asked Harry.

"Yes I did. I think that it should be right over there," Harry told him, point to the area between the lane and the shed. "That way you can see me from the house or the barn."

"That's very smart of you Harry, but why would we need to see you from the barn?" His mother asked him, there were no plans to do anything with the barn, other than let their werewolf friend go through his monthly changes in the safety of the stone building.

"Because," the boy said, sounding as if it were obvious. "This is a farm, and we're going to need animals. I think we should get a cow, some chickens, ducks and a pig."

Ellie looked away, trying to stifle a laugh, it was only when she caught the eye of her husband did she stop, and take the sleeping infant from his arms when he offered it. Once Ainsley was with her mother, Sirius knelt down and looked at Harry.

"Harry, son, none of us know anything about keeping animals. I don't think that it would be wise for us to take on such a project without knowing about it."

"But, I want to learn. Please Sirius, please?" The little boy whined in such a way that he knew he would get his way.

"Fine, I will make a deal with you, we'll research what it would take to get some chickens and how to take care of them. I'm sure that we can find a book in town," Sirius said, sounding defeated, as he rose. "Come on, we have berries to pick for our feast tonight."

Harry and Sirius took off with the baskets that lay on the ground near the bushes, and began to pick the dark, sun-warmed sweet fruit from their bushes. It appeared that Harry ate two for every one that he put into his little basket. For the woman, it reminded her of when she would go to pick berries with her brother, and he would do the same thing. She sat in the sun, her legs stretched out in the soft grass. Her daughter had awoken, and Ellie unwrapped the little girl and set her to suckle. Ellie couldn't help to think that life was beyond peaceful, it was pastoral here. In this moment, she felt such a strong connection to the ancestors that she had been researching, she wondered if she had somehow been taken back in time.

When the berry picking and the baby feeding were over, the family headed in to the house, where they needed to put the finishing touches on their meal. Sirius went outside to set the logs for the bonfire up, and Ellie got to work on the dinner dishes. A chicken with basil and oregano was in the oven cooking, the berries were cooking down on the stove top and most importantly, the potatoes were being cooked for the colcannon.

Ainsley was in her high chair, playing with the toys that were magically attached, and Harry was drawing pictures of chickens and cows with his crayons on the floor by the hearth.

Dinner was eaten under the arbor in the back yard, and the family was joined by the friends who had come to Italy with them. Remus and Grace laughed and listened with great interest as Harry talked about how he was going to take care of the chickens. His parents knew that there wasn't going to be a chance of dissuading the little boy from his dream.

When it was dark enough, Sirius lit the bonfire. Harry was entranced with how high the flames would shoot up, and how they seemed to dance in the sky. Grace began to sing the old carols and tunes that she knew from her childhood, and Sirius and Ellie began to dance -- the traditional way to celebrate Lughnasadh.

After the children were in bed, and their friends had retired to their apartment next to the main house, Ellie took Sirius around back of the house, to an area that she had hidden, just off the arbors.

"I have a surprise for you," she cooed as her hand stroked the face of her husband. "Close your eyes, and hold my hand." She demanded and he did as she had requested.

Ellie lead her husband around the partition, to where there was a huge, clawed foot iron tub. She had already filled it with water, charmed it to both bubble and stay warm, and had lit the area with candles. She quickly slipped from the lightweight dress that she had been wearing that day, and slid her knickers to the ground and stepped out of them.

"You can open your eyes now," she told Sirius. He was delighted to be greeted with the sight of his naked wife and the improvised hot tub. Ellie took the few steps back to him. "I thought that we might like a place where we could be alone," she muttered, pulling his shirt free and removing it over his head. "Where we could enjoy one and another under the stars," she whispered as she removed his slacks and pants.

"You are truly brilliant, wife," he answered and together, the slid into the warm water.

"Tell me what stars are up there, and what their stories are, please?" Ellie asked Sirius and he obliged. They'd only made it through two constellations before their attentions were diverted to other fun activities for two in a tub.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

**The Queen and the Princesses**

"I understand," Ellie replied, looking into the small compact mirror that was her communication link with her one true friend still in England. "Amelia, I can't thank you enough, I know that you and your team have put in a great deal of time on this. It couldn't have been easy going through the Muggle land records from those days."

"It wasn't that hard, Ellie. We're in an out of those files all of the time, trying to figure out where magical folks who are on the run might be hiding. Don't worry, two of my researchers actually spent their own time on this, since it was so interesting. I'll bring everything with me when I come next week." Amelia Bones was Ellie's dearest friend that wasn't living with her, and she had been using her considerable influence to find more information for Ellie and Sirius about Ellie's ancestry and the apparent destiny of her daughter.

"Well, I can't wait to see you. It's been four months, Ainsley is so big, she sits up and she's starting to crawl and she babbles all of the time. I can't wait for you to see her, and for you to see our home." The house was already decorated for Yule and Christmas, and Ellie hoped that Amelia would be bringing Harry's early Christmas present with her. "Did you talk with Molly?"

"I did, and it would seem that the near persistent whining of her two youngest has convinced her that they may come for the weekend. Does Harry know?"

"No," Harry's mother in all but blood replied, "he will be so happy to see her. Well, I should think that I need to go and talk with my husband about all of this, and then explain it to Remus and Grace. I believe that I am in better understanding of what I need to do now. Thank you again, and I can't wait to see you."

"I can't wait either, is there anything that you want me to bring with me?" Amelia asked and Ellie's eyes lit up.

"Do you think that you could bring me a bar of Honeydukes best? They have chocolate here, but it isn't quite the same," Ellie explained and her friend nodded.

"You my dear, are so easy to shop for. Alright, go on now, and kiss those pretty children of yours for me, please." Amelia said, ending the conversation.

"Of course, be safe my friend," Ellie bid the other woman goodbye.

"You too," Amelia replied and then the mirror went dark. Ellie folded up the compact and slipped into the folds of her skirt and rose from the dressing table stool in the master bedroom, and went to lie on the bed. She twisted her wedding ring, knowing that the one on her husband's hand would move when she did, and he would come and find her. It was a very private form of communication that they had discovered not long after their wedding. The only problem with it, was that Harry loved to play with both of his adoptive parents rings when he sat in their laps, as he was being read to. Whomever had the little boy would often warn the other that they were going to read, as to not alarm their mate.

A minute or two later, the bedroom door opened, and Sirius took one look at his wife, slipped into the room and closed and charmed the door.

"Where are the children?" Ellie asked.

"Grace is giving Ainsley her bottle and Remus is reading to Harry downstairs. I asked them if they would put the kids to bed. I told them that you were talking with Amelia, and that it might take a while. They were more than happy to do it." As he spoke, he came over to the bed, toeing off his shoes, and climbing on next to her. As he did, Ellie laid her head on his chest and sighed. "I take it you have news?"

"I do. It's..." she paused and exhaled. "Sirius it's what we expected. Amelia has gotten me the documents that I didn't have, as well as some land records." Ellie stopped speaking again, and looked off at the window, the sun setting over the vineyards behind their home. "I understand it all now, and I've figured out what we have to do. I just hope that I'm strong enough..."

"My sweet Lolly, we'll do this together. That is why they have a Mum and Dad, remember?" Sirius told her, rolling over slightly to kiss her. When his lips left hers, she felt better about it all. They talked for a while longer, discussing what they would tell Remus and Grace, which was just about everything; and then how to go about teaching their children. They decided that it would all be planned before Amelia's trip the following week -- that way she could relay any messages or procure any needed items for them.

Life had taken on a very placid tone at the farm now occupied by the family that lived there. The house was an odd structure when they purchased it. The main house was divided up into three apartments, each with three bedrooms each. The arrangement had worked out perfectly for this unique family. Sirius and Remus had knocked out walls between the first two apartments, thereby creating one large house for the Potter-Black Family. The third apartment was left alone, giving Remus and Grace their own home.

A three car garage was also attached, and it was in the process of being converted into a potions lab for Ellie to use and a training room for Harry and Ainsley as they grew. The farm also had a small outbuilding that now housed Harry's chickens. The rest of his requested menagerie would be left until the spring. There was also a large barn with a hidden stone room beneath it that Remus used for his changes. Sirius was with him on those nights, the two of them frolicking, they'd even gone running through the vineyards, until Ellie had gone out in her own furry form, and chased them back in. She didn't need someone reporting a wild wolf on their property.

To their neighbors, the Dubhpotaire family were kind and engaging, if not a little odd. The local gossip mill had not figured out why this apparently English family had moved here, nor what the relationship between the other two adults who lived with the family were. The parents were often seen with the children, a dark haired toddler and a beautiful little baby girl, in town and the woman seemed to do most of the talking, as it appeared she was the only one fluent in Italian. Her husband was learning quickly, but he still often made rather humorous mistakes.

The rumor was that their last name was Irish, although none of the neighbors were quite sure how to pronounce it, there just seemed to be too many constants in a row, and with silent letters as part of the name, it just made no sense. Their fields were well tended during the harvest season, although the neighbors never saw anyone else ever working the vineyards nor the orchards. It was supposed that since they were all so young, perhaps they were doing the work themselves. Whatever the case, they were involved in the community and since they bothered no one, none of the townspeople felt the need to bother them.

On a cold but clear night a few days after Ellie and Amelia had spoken, inside the main house, Ellie, Sirius, Grace and Remus were sitting by the roaring fire in the large sitting room on the first floor. Ellie had made some spiced wine, and the house smelled of fresh pine from the trees that had been brought in only days before to decorate with.

"Okay you two, spill it. What is going on? Are you pregnant again," Grace asked and Ellie stared at her best friend in abject horror.

"Why would you ask if I were pregnant again? Ainsley is only eight months old?" Ellie questioned her friend, looking down at herself and wondering if she looked pregnant. The poor woman hoped not, she'd actually lost weight since moving here and being able to walk places again, without an Auror escort. "Do I look pregnant?" She added, looking horrified and disgusted at the same time.

"No!" the other woman responded. "It's just, you've been so quiet the last few days, and I know that I have caught you resting your head on the table or the mantle. You just don't look...well, Ellie."

Ellie set her mug down on the short table that sat between the two couches that sat across from the fireplace. Her hands rubbed across her face a few times, and then she swept her hair back from her hair, dividing it into two and then twisting the sections to make a loose ponytail down her back; it was the same action that she took whenever she was upset or nervous. She looked to her husband, who in turn reached over and took her hand and then kissed her fingers, giving her a slight nod as he released her hand. It was the strength that she needed to explain to her friends the story of their little daughter.

"Well, it begins like this. I told you that I was descended from Queen Maeve, correct?" Ellie asked, and her friends nodded in agreement. "Okay, well there is more to the story than I had even learned from my grandmother. You have to understand before I begin this, that when I was told these things, it was the same as me being told fairy tales, or the stories of Merlin. I knew that there might be a little bit of truth in them, but really, they were fantasies. I never thought that my grandmother was teaching me my heritage. I think if I did, I might have paid more attention."

The last comment garnered a chuckle from everyone, and the room seemed more at ease, as did Ellie as she began to tell her tale. "Okay, I got some of my facts wrong when I first told you, but I have spent the last eight months studying, so I know that I am correct now. Maeve was indeed a Queen in the first century in Ireland. She really did have many sons, and one daughter, and she did teach them magic; her magic -- wandless, spell-less magic."

"The local villagers did indeed want her to train their children, and so she did; but this was the time of the Roman occupation, and the old religion was pushed aside; and with that, all of the magic was considered illegal as well. That's when Maeve built her castle on the island and warded it so that it was invisible. There the children could learn and the villagers could practice their faith in peace. She was the Queen of Sligo, a title that would eventually become Lady Sligo."

"Things were going along fine for about a thousand years. Maeve had one daughter, Findabair, who took over teaching for her mother when she became too aged. She is the one who continued my book. She had one daughter, who then became the teacher. On this went for a thousand years, there was always one daughter, who would be given the book, the keeper of the magic, the teacher at the school. Through all this time, Maeve's daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter and so forth remained within the royal households of Ireland."

"The school was small, it was never really meant to serve more than her small community, her little kingdom at most. Before Hogwarts was founded, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin came to her, to see if they could add onto her school. It was a dangerous time to be a witch or wizard, the House of Wessex had only just taken power back from the Vikings, and they were more than willing to burn anyone suspected of witchcraft at the stake. The Founders needed to be able to train their students in safety and peace."

Ellie stopped talking for a moment, lifting her mug and taking a sip. Her husband and friend were rapt with her storytelling, and waited as she whetted her palate and took a deep breath before she began again. "When they opened the school, they invited the Princess of Sligo -- Maeve's descendant -- to come to the school and teach. She was to teach spell less magic, as well as the tenants of the old faith. This was done for almost another one thousand years."

"Things weren't always easy for the Wizarding community. While we were insulated from many of the Muggle battles for power, our ancestors were also secretly taken prisoner, and made to help with the torturing of enemy captives. The Reformation of the Church of England forced our people to segregate themselves even more, since failure to pledge allegiance to the church would get your burned. The Wizarding world just took to hiding themselves from the Muggle world. It was when we developed some of our all Wizarding towns, of which Hogsmeade is the only one left."

"My relatives continued to teach at Hogwarts, and continued to be the within the Royal bloodlines of Ireland. There was always one daughter, and she was always in the Monarchy. That all ended in 1634, when Ireland did away with their Monarchs. The family now became Lords and Ladies, but the bloodline continued; we were now just marrying within the Noble houses, which used to be the Royal houses. It was a very hard time, we had become so encapsulated in our own world that we were ignoring any new Witches and Wizards that were being born in the Muggle world. If any of the Muggle born children even made it to Hogwarts, they never saw their families again. This was about the time when the population began to become unstable, because of so much intermarrying. It was also the time when the ever popular _Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy_ come into play." Ellie rolled her eyes at the book. "Everyone following me so far?" They all nodded at her.

"Okay, I need to skip ahead a little, and then I will come back. The Magic continued to be taught at Hogwarts by Maeve's descendant. It was eventually relegated to 'Old Magic' and 'Ancient Faith'." Ellie rolled her eyes at the definitions. "Books like _Guide to Medieval Magic" _ were published, and learning the ways of the faith became an optional thing. Then disaster struck in the 1860's. In an effort to be more welcoming to our Muggle born counterparts, Hogwarts had its first Muggle born Headmaster. He was a charming man, very talented in his magic and a peacemaker in his own rights. He was however, fascinated with the Muggle world still, as that is where he grew up. Charles Clifton wanted to show that we, like the Muggles of the time, were interested in new things, like science and technology. The Old Magic was done away with, as was the celebration of the holy days of our Faith. We celebrated the Muggle versions of them at the school -- the same way it is today."

"Wait, this head just got rid of our heritage?" Remus asked and Ellie nodded.

"Wait till you hear what happens next. Headmaster Clifton retires, and in comes the man reputed to be the least liked of all Hogwarts Headmasters..."

"Headmaster Black," Sirius chirped up, "my great-great-grandfather." He sounded slightly disgusted at the idea.

"That would be him. He tried to bring things back into order, or at least as he saw order, but he was blocked at every turn by the Board of Governors, who seemed happy that the school had a new persona and attitude. The classes were not reinstated, and within fifty years, the only people who knew the Old Magic and the lessons of the Faith were the purebloods who were being taught at home. It was in this period, the turn of the century, when people started putting together their 'adaptations' of the old magic and spells. This is what was eventually labeled dark magic. Books like _Magic Most Evile_ and _Magic: Dark and Dangerous_ were written, and passed around among the pureblood families. In the midst of this, the Betrothal laws were given more emphasis, and taking a cue from the Muggles, we adopted some of their rules for courting and marrying off your children. Pureblood families began to equate themselves with the Aristocracy and Noble families within the Empire."

Ellie took another sip of the now cooling liquid and then continued her story. "Now, we go back in time, to 1673. The Lady in Maeve's bloodline, Lady Agatha Catherine Sligo made a prediction. It was the prophecy that would give her people hope, as well as hope for all of the wizarding world. The prophecy goes like this: "In the spring will be born a princess to the blood of Queen Maeve. She will possess within her power that has never been known, and she will restore the ancient ways and bring back the goddesses to Earth. She will be born to the reigning Princess of Maeve, and within her blood, a triad of the ancient lines will be brought together. She will be taught the ways that will lead her on the path she must take, and she will be the guide for the buailteoir. Her reign will be the rebirth for our people, and she will take her rightful place as the heir of our Queen." Ellie was quiet as they pondered what all the parts of the prophecy could mean. Sirius reached over and pulled his wife to him, they had already spoken at length about this, and they had their ideas what it all meant. They had also had Amelia's council; they now wanted to hear their friends ideas with the taint of their opinions.

"That word, bealtor..." Remus asked and Ellie nodded.

"Buailteoir, it's Gaelic, it means victory or one who is victorious," she explained. Offering no further editorial comments.

Remus and Grace continued to be quiet, both of their faces were etched in deep contemplation.

"You're sure that this is Ainsley, this prophecy?" Grace asked.

"I am," Ellie responded. "There hasn't been a girl born in the spring since the prophecy was made. Over three hundred years, and we have all been born in the summer and fall. Ainsley is the first to be born, not long after Eostara. Her birthday's clearly in spring."

"Now I understand why the other side wanted her so badly," Remus muttered and Ellie and Sirius nodded in agreement. It was becoming clear why they had not had any regrets about leaving England.

"From their way of thinking, it makes complete sense. Since the followers of Voldemort see themselves as the ones holding onto the old ways correctly, if they were to train Ainsley, then she would guide their leader to victory," Sirius added, a chill passing through him at the thought that his daughter would be used in such a way.

"But they have completely corrupted the teachings, and twisted the Faith to meet their own needs," Ellie added.

Remus looked up at her, his thoughtful eyes probing Ellie's and then Sirius' in turn. "So what are you going to do?"

The parents looked at each other, and then smiled, knowing in their hearts that they had the support of the friends sitting with them. "We're quite certain that Ainsley is meant to help Harry. I know that Remus knows about Harry's prophecy, Grace do you know it?"

Grace nodded her response before speaking, "On the night that you told us you were leaving, Remus explained it to me."

"I don't know what power it is that Harry is supposed to have, but to us it seems obvious that the two of them are to work together. We've decided that we're going to teach and train them ourselves, in all of the old ways," Ellie explained.

"But, haven't some of those types of magic been outlawed?" Grace asked and Sirius nodded his head.

"That was part of our motivation for leaving England. We're not suggesting that we teach the children the manipulated spells and magic that the Death Eaters are so fond of, we're instead going to teach them the original spells and magic," he spoke with such calm assuredness that it surprised his friends. What he was talking about was dangerous and possibly illegal.

"The Italians are far less strict in their usage of different kinds of magic, which is why we came here. Also, even though the county is still very religious, it is one where many of our holidays are still openly celebrated in some form or another. We figured that we'd find more tolerance here," Ellie explained.

"Ellie, Sirius, you said that part of your motivation for leaving was to get away from the danger and the possible legal ramifications. What was the rest of it?" Remus asked, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling that he knew the answer. As she opened her mouth to speak, Ellie's face hardened.

"I wanted to keep them away from Albus Dumbledore."

"Why?" Grace shrieked. She knew that the three of them had always been close to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, what had changed?

Ellie sighed deeply before she started speaking, and Sirius too now had a stern look on his face. "He..." Ellie paused, rubbing her face again. "He intentionally withheld information from Jamie and then from me."

"What? What information?" Remus pleaded.

"He knew about Harry's prophecy before he was born. He knew about it two years before Jamie and Lily were killed. They could have gone into hiding before Harry was born, and kept him safe and saved their own lives. He chose not to tell them until the last minute," Ellie explained, her voice getting louder and stronger as she spoke. "I confronted him about it, and he said that it could have been one of two children, so he did nothing."

"Why? Why would he do that?" Grace asked. "Why not just put both of them into hiding?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a theory on it," Ellie responded, and the others waited for her to finish, but she did not. No one chose to press her on it, as they could see the tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"We decided that we couldn't trust him anymore, and I doubt that we ever will," Sirius added.

Silence fell upon the room, like a soft blanket. No one said anything, there was a need for them all to contemplate what was said, to let the reality sink in and settle within their minds. The spell was broken by a slight chuckle from Grace's lips.

"Ellie, I just figured something out. You're a princess! You've got royal blood in you," she proclaimed.

"Well, yes, I suppose that is true, except that there isn't a throne in Ireland anymore. Remember Princess Sligo became Lady Sligo quite some time ago," Ellie reminded her friend with a grin.

"Oh, that doesn't matter, you're a princess -- hear that Sirius -- you have to treat her right, since she's royalty. Ever leave her unsatisfied, and she can punish you," Grace added with a smirk on her face. Remus covered his face with his hands and shook his head, Sirius appeared to be blushing but Ellie just looked at her friend and laughed.

"Leave it to you to find a way for the whole thing to come back to sex," she added.

"Hold on though," Remus started, "you said that the princess in the line always married into a royal or noble family. What aren't you telling us?"

Ellie got a sly smile across her face as she began to speak. "My father was Lord Potter, and when he died Jamie became Lord Potter and now..."

"Harry is Lord Potter." Remus finished her sentence.

"Correct. No one ever made a big deal out of it, so I didn't really think about it. I only remember my father using the term once in all of my growing up. It doesn't mean anything to me. But, there may be a way that we can use it to our advantage."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Friends**

The rapping at the front door alerted Ellie to their arrival. She quickly answered the door, and leaned down toward the children, putting a finger over her mouth to remind them to be quiet. They were part of a grand holiday surprise for Harry that would continue from this weekend, through Yule and on to Christmas.

"I am so happy to see you both, but remember, you need to be quiet for a minute more until we call Harry down, okay?"

"Yes, Miss Elllie," the little red headed boy replied. "Mum and Ms. Bones both told us," he grumbled.

"Okay then, any other questions?" Ellie asked them.

"How is the baby?" little Ginny asked, she was speaking quite well for a toddler, and Ellie was impressed with her enunciation.

"She's good, you'll see her in a minute too. She's with her Daddy. Okay should I call down Harry?" Both of the children nodded their heads. Ellie looked up at Amelia and began talking to her. "I didn't mean to ignore you, welcome to our home."

"Not a problem at all, they have been wonderful travelers," Amelia responded. "Your home is beautiful, at least what I've seen of it. Now, lets get on with our surprise."

Ellie nodded and then turned and looked up the stairs to the second floor. "Harry, sweetheart, could you come down here?"

"Yes, Ellie, I'm coming," the little boy yelled from upstairs, and a moment later there was the thunder of the child's feet on the stairs. When he reached the third to the bottom, he saw that his closest friends were standing in the hallway awaiting him. He jumped from the step that he was on, down toward them.

"Ron, Inny, what are you doing here?" Harry yelled as he tackled them to the floor and they all fell down in a laughing heap.

"We came to visit, mate. Ms. Bones brought us. I hadn't ever portkeyed before, it made me hungry," Ron explained. All three of the children got themselves back up into a sitting position, and Harry took Ginny's hand.

"I'm so happy to see you, Inny. I missed you," Harry said quietly.

"I miss you too, Hawwy." Everyone was quiet for a minute as the two just looked at each other and smiled. "You wanna see my room?" To cheers of excitement, the three got up and ran up the stairs, leaving Ellie and Amelia still standing in the entryway.

"Now I can formally greet you," Ellie said, going over and wrapping her arms around her friend. "Welcome to our home."

"It is quite a home," Amelia responded, "when you said that it was large, I had no idea. Is all of that land yours?"

"Most of it, it's a large parcel, but the majority is covered in fruit trees and bushes. Tomorrow, you'll have to see Harry's chickens, they're really quite something," Ellie responded, taking the bags from her friends hands and setting them down near the stairs. "Sirius gets pecked every time that he goes near the coop, they do not like him at all. Harry, however, is an excellent egg gatherer. I had hoped that he would tire of the animals, but instead, he's taken to it quite well. We're getting a cow next."

"A cow?" Amelia said with a laugh. "I never thought that I would see the day that Eleanor Hightower Potter would be milking a cow. You can't even cook!"

"Oh, well, we'll see what you think after dinner. I've become quite domesticated. Marriage suits me well," Ellie added with a sigh.

"As does motherhood. I swear, you look happier and calmer than I have ever remembered you. Come on, I want to see all of this house," her English friend begged, and Ellie was more than happy to oblige. They went upstairs, and checked in on the three young friends who were playing in Harry's room. His bedroom looked much the same as it had when they lived in the cottage.

Ainsley's room was next, and inside Sirius was rocking his daughter, having just finished giving her a mid-afternoon bottle. When he saw Amelia, he stood and gave her a one armed hug and then handed the baby over to her.

"My goodness, she is simply the most beautiful baby that I have ever seen," Amelia gushed, and Ellie looked up at her husband and smiled. "I just can't...she's like a perfect little doll."

Sirius wrapped his arm around his wife and kissed her temple. "Thank you, I think that it is a reflection of just how beautiful her mother is."

Amelia looked up at him, "You're still as smooth of a talker as you ever were, aren't you?" Sirius just grinned at her. Ellie and Amelia continued the tour, taking Ainsley with them. There was a large loo in the hallway, another small one off one of the guest rooms and then there was the master suite.

The walls between the two back bedrooms had been knocked out, and instead an arch was left behind. One the side with the door was a study, and three of the walls were covered with books. Amelia handed Ainsley back to her mother, and then went to peruse the shelves. Her fingers lovingly caressed the bindings of the some books, recognizing just how old they were. "I have never seen a collection like this. Some of these books are reported to have been lost," Amelia was astounded at the library before her.

"Most of these books are from the Hightower and Potter vaults, I brought everything that we had or that my father had in his work office. There are even things that we took from the Black Family Vault, not like I think that they'll miss it. I have also done some back room deals to get other books that I needed. There are just a few that I don't have, that I would like to have, and I have a feeling I know where they are." Ellie explained, her voice even and slow. It gave Amelia the feeling that she didn't want to say too much more about it.

"Well, I have the last few that you asked me to bring. They're down in my case," there was a quiet pause as Ellie looked at her daughter and Amelia watched her. "You've decided what you're going to do, haven't you?"

"We have, we'll talk more about it later; after the children are asleep and Remus and Grace are here, okay?"

"Of course," Amelia acquiesced , and the tour continued through the rest of the upper floor and then down to the main floor. When they got back downstairs, Remus and Grace were in the sitting room with Sirius, near the steady fire. "Tomorrow, I'll show you the grounds, and then I thought that you might like to see the little town, it's quite picturesque."

"Oh, that would be lovely. I still have a little bit of shopping that I need to do for Christmas," Amelia announced and conversation turned to gossip from the Ministry and friends that they had known from school.

Dinner was a happy affair, with the children all talking loudly about what they hoped to get for Christmas. Ron and Ginny were quite surprised when Harry announced that he hoped that he would be getting a pig or a cow. He very excitedly told them about his chickens, and promised to show them the coop in the morning.

Later, after the children had been nestled into bed, the five adults sat down in the sitting room to discuss the ramifications of their leaving. Turns out that there were several people who were quite upset at them.

"Devon didn't understand why you didn't tell him first, he isn't angry at you, more hurt that you didn't trust him. I explained that I was the only person who knows the location of your home, but he was welcome to use me as a letter carrier any time that he wanted. I think that he just wants to know that you're safe," Amelia explained. Sirius nodded his head as she spoke. Devon was the one person that he was concerned about leaving behind without any real explanation. Sirius made a note in his head to write Devon a long letter before Amelia left.

They talked about a few other people, pointedly avoiding Albus Dumbledore. Amelia then took in a deep breath, and pulled two letters from her satchel.

"You've been asked to visit two people. Rosemund petitioned the Auror's to allow you to visit her, and they've agreed. You do not have to go visit her, but I understand that she's much more lucent and calm now. They're giving her a daily potion to help control the mood swings and such."

Sirius let out a disgusted snort of sorts while shaking his head. "I want nothing to do with her. I know that my mother has made provisions for her, and I do feel some level of compassion toward her, but...no."

"I didn't expect you to risk everything to go and see her, but I wanted to make the offer anyway," Amelia answered, and slid one of the letters back into her bag. "This other one is," she paused looking at the folded parchment, "it's from your mother." Sirius went to speak but Amelia stopped him, instead continuing to speak. "Sirius, she's dying. She's sick nearly all of the time now, it's like her body lost the ability to fight off infection. The Healers are giving her potions, and they help some, but they give her a year and a half at most. She wrote you this, and I think that she'd like to see you."

Amelia handed Sirius the letter, and he rubbed his fingers against the parchment, saying very little about it. Ellie reached over, touching her husband's shoulder with a loving caress, letting him know that she was there.

"I'll read this later, right now..." Sirius stopped. "Do you bring any other news from home?"

"Well, Albus is furious. He keeps ranting that there is no way that we will defeat Voldemort and the Death Eaters without Harry. He's got the whole Ministry in an uproar, because they don't know if they should be looking for that thing that we saw in their field that night, or if they should be perusing you two and Harry. I had to remind him that it isn't against the law for parents to take their children out of the country. He wasn't happy with my remark," Amelia sighed. Ellie and Sirius looked at each other, silently conveying the guilt that they felt for the mess that they had left for their friend to deal with. "I have to ask, are you ever planning on coming back?"

Sirius brushed aside Ellie's hair, sweeping it behind her ear to gently kiss her temple. They had discussed this over and over, and they had finally formulated what they believed was a good plan. They were going to need Amelia's help if they were to execute it.

"As of right now, there are no plans to return to England. We're going to teach Harry -- everything -- not just the curriculum from Hogwarts, but the International Standard lessons as well. We're also going to teach him the old magic and..." Ellie paused, feeling almost fearful of the words that were going to escape her lips. Thankfully, Sirius chose to take that moment to speak.

"We're going to make sure that he understands dark magic spells as well. Not to use them, but what they are, and how to counteract them."

Amelia looked at them shocked. "You do know that you could be arrested for that? That is magic that has been outlawed for a reason. Why are you telling me this? I could arrest you for suggesting it!"

Ellie stood and went and kneeled in front of her friend, placing her hands on Amelia's knees. "I know that you would never turn us in, not because we're friends, but because deep down, you know that I'm right. He won't be able to fight something he doesn't understand." Ellie paused and let her friend ponder what she had just said. Amelia, while unsure, did in her heart agree with the theory. "We're going to do the same with Ainsley."

"She's just a little baby, why does she need to learn too?" Amelia was outraged at the idea.

"Ainsley was foretold, over three hundred years ago. She would be powerful and provide the way for the victor in the great battle. Our daughter was born to help Harry -- however, if the other side had gotten her, they could have trained her to help them. They're in this together, we just aren't sure about some of the details just yet. That's what those books that you brought are for. There is one more crucial book I need, do you think that Professor McGonagall is too upset at us to ask for her help?"

"Not at all, in fact, I hear that she's giving the Headmaster the cold shoulder over the way that he treated you, and why you left. She was sad that you didn't say goodbye, but your letter said enough."

"Good," Ellie responded. "I'll figure out a way to get in touch with her. Do you have any more questions?"

"Yes," Amelia replied quickly, "where the hell did you come up with the name Dubhpotaire? Did I even pronounce it right?"

The whole group started laughing, Grace and Remus nearly falling off their chairs.

"We asked them the same thing," Grace giggled.

"It means black potter in Gaelic. I don't think most people know that I'm a descendant of Maeve, and that I would be a darned princess, if there was Irish royalty. I figured it was a cute play on words," Ellie explained.

"I still can't say it right," Sirius said with a great guffaw, "which is fine, because neither can the Italians. I swear no two of them say it the same way."

"You're one to talk there, Padfoot," Remus began teasing his friend. "Last week we were in town, and we were at the market. Sirius was supposed to say 'Passo avere un chilo di burro?'; 'May I please have a pound of butter?' but instead, it came out 'Può mi piace l'odore tuoi piedl?'; 'May I please smell your feet?' The woman was so outraged that she swatted him with a spoon. She wouldn't speak to either of us, Grace had to go and buy the butter."

The five friends continued to share stories of their lives now, Amelia had little to report, but apparently, the other four had wonderful stories to tell of living in Italy and especially the children. It was late in the evening when they finally retired for the night.

Early the next morning the children were up, dressed and outside before the kettle had even been put on for tea. Harry was showing his friends his coop, in which he now had three chickens.

"We have chickens at the Burrow," Ron remarked, "and I'm never happy when Mum sends me out to get the eggs." The young red head appeared bored with the entire exercise. "Can I go back inside?"

"Go on then," Harry told his friend. "We'll be in once we have all the eggs. Ellie can't make breakfast without them." Ron sulked away, and Harry returned to his job of gently slipping his hand under the hens and collecting the eggs that were there. Ginny was petting one of the chickens, a large red hen.

"Did you name them?" she asked.

"Yup," Harry answered her. "This one, the all white one, is Lily, after my Mum. And this one, the sort of white and brown one, she's Dot, because I think that she looks like she has dots all over her."

"Whose this?" Ginny asked about the hen she was petting.

"That's...Inny. I thought that she looked like you, because you have red hair and she has red feathers."

"That's very nice of you," Ginny said as she took the few steps over to Harry and picked up his free hand and kissed the palm.

"I miss you, Inny."

"I miss you too, Hawwy."

The pair took the basket with the eggs into the house, and soon they were all eating a hearty breakfast. After everyone had eaten, and they were dressed, they piled into the old station wagon that Ellie and Sirius had purchased, as to blend in better. Thankfully, Grace knew how to drive it.

Together, they toured the small town, and visited the market. Ellie purchased a few things that she needed to make dinner, but when the woman selling butter saw Sirius, she lifted her spoon at him again. Grace went and made their purchases from her.

Since the village is small, it took them no time to see all of the sights and it was decided that they would drive the hour or so that it would take for them to see Verona. The larger city offered many more shopping opportunities, and they broke off into two groups, Grace and Remus taking Harry and Ron; because Harry wanted to buy a Christmas present for Ellie and Sirius. The other couple took the two girls, Ainsley in her little pram, and Ginny walking alongside, making faces at the infant.

After a few hours of shopping, the stopped for lunch and then got the children gelato before heading home. All four of the children, as well as Ellie and Amelia fell asleep on the ride back to the farm.

Their guests left early the next day. Harry said goodbye to Ginny and Ron and promised that he would call on his mirror in a few days. Amelia was thanked for her help, and Ellie promised she would keep her apprised of their future plans.

Later that night, as Ellie was sitting in bed, brushing out her hair, she knew that she had to confront Sirius about seeing his mother before she died. She was fully aware that the relationship that she had with her parents was different than his -- his relationship with her parents was even different than the one that he had with his own -- but saying goodbye was an important thing.

_I was sitting on my parents bed, my mother looked pale and frail and the Healer had told us that there wasn't much time left. Sirius had been in to say goodbye; I had hidden in my old bedroom when I knew that he was in the house. Jamie and Lily had also said their goodbyes, and now it was my turn. My mother opened up her eyes to look at me. The color seemed to have washed out of her irises, and it was hard to distinguish them from the whites of her eyes._

"_Ellie, my dear sweet girl," Mummy said._

"_I'm here, Mum," I replied._

"_Do not be sad, my dear. I have lived a good life. I have done everything that I wanted to do. I loved your father every day that I knew him. I bore two fine children who are doing great things with their lives. Please don't be sad on my account," she explained._

_I began to cry big fat tears, and I could feel my heart racing. "But, Mummy, I will miss you."_

"_My love with always be with you child; as will the love of another. Love him Ellie, and let him love you," she whispered, before she fell back into an exhausted sleep. As I left the room, my father slipped in. I closed the door behind me, still weeping, somehow knowing that this was the last conversation that I would have with my mother. When I lifted my head to walk down the hall, there was Sirius, with his arms open for me. I walked into them and together we cried over the impending loss._

"Hey, where were you?" Sirius asked as he climbed into bed, taking the brush from my hand and beginning to brush out the long section in the back.

"I was thinking about the day that Mummy died."

"Oh," he said quietly, still brushing. "You think that I should talk to her, don't you?"

"I do," I answered him.

"Lolly, why in the world would I do that. She hates me. She's made my life hellish," he responded dropping the brush onto the bed. I turned to him and took his hands in mine.

"I don't think I need to tell you that I am not a fan of Mrs. Walburga Black," I started and Sirius gave a slight nod in response to my comment. "However, it sounds like she has some regrets from that letter. If she is asking for forgiveness, wouldn't you rather at least consider it than live the rest of your life wondering what it was that she wanted to say to you?"

"And if it isn't absolution that she's looking for? If she just wants to berate me and tell me how much of a disappointment I am to her?"

"Then you can walk away with a clear conscience. You don't have to do it tomorrow, or next week, or even next month. Just think about it, for your own peace of mind," Ellie asked him and Sirius pulled her to him.

'What would I do without you my Lolly?"

Ellie didn't bother to answer the question, but instead brushed her lips across his, causing them both to sigh.

They shifted beneath the covers, lying side by side, Ellie's leg thrown up over Sirius hip and again their lips met. Her hand caressed down his back to them cup his bottom. His had slid under her gown and was carefully caressing her breasts.

Soon they had shed their clothes and Ellie had straddled Sirius, their movements in time, their words filled with passion. Time seemed to pass slowly, until they were both crying aloud from their release. Ellie collapsed down onto Sirius chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, as well as pulling the blankets up around them.

Their caresses and words were gentle as they came down from their sexual high, it wasn't until Sirius eyes got wide with worry and he shifted so that he could look at Ellie.

"I didn't remember to do the charm, did you?"

Ellie shook her head and slumped against her husband. "Shit."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi everyone. Just wanted to remind you to keep an eye on the dates at the beginnings of the chapters. We will be jumping forward in time, because face it, Harry and Ainsley can't really fight the big V while they're preschool aged. Thanks again to everyone reading and reviewing. If you want to see something in the story, please let me know, my writing is only a few chapters ahead. Again, thanks. Mutt**

**Chapter 4:**

**My Favorite Memory of You**

**August 31, 1984**

Ellie awoke and knew that there was a pair of eyes staring at her, she could feel the gaze boring into her, and it made her feel warm and happy. She opened her eyes to her husband staring at her lovingly.

"Happy Birthday, Lolly. How does it feel to be twenty-four?" Sirius asked her.

"Not all that different than twenty-three," she quipped back which garnered a chuckle from them both. "However, it would be really nice to get a birthday kiss." Ellie had a glimmer in her eye and her lips were curled into a mischievous grin.

"I think that can be arranged," Sirius replied before he slid his hand behind her head and pulled her lips to his. Their lips moved together perfectly, and when his tongue begged for entrance, she was more than willing to oblige. They kissed until they were panting for breath.

"Now that," Ellie said, taking a deep breath, "was what I call a birthday kiss."

"Glad to oblige. I promise that there will be more of those today," Sirius told her as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body onto his. "There's something that I want to talk with you about." The tone in his voice had changed from the light one that he was speaking with only moments ago, and now has a seriousness to it that made Ellie nervous.

"Okay," she said, dragging the word out to make it sound as if it had many more letters than it really did.

"Lolly, honey, it's nothing to worry about, I promise. It's just, I've been thinking lately," Sirius started, nervousness in his voice. "I know that we dodged a spell back there in December, when we forgot the charm. I know that you were relieved when you weren't pregnant, and I understand why you felt that way, but," he paused and took a deep breath, "do you want to have more children?"

Ellie looked at him and got a gentle smile on her face, the one that was filled with love and devotion that she only had for her husband and her children. "Sirius, I would love to have more children with you. The only reason that I was worried about it back then was that we hadn't planned anything and Ainsley was only eight months old."

"I know, but she's sixteen, almost seventeen months old now, and Harry is four," Sirius reminded her.

"I know how old the children are," Ellie reminded her husband. She looked at him for a long moment, seeing in his eyes how much he really wanted this. "You really want another child, don't you?"

Sirius looked at her, his face softening, then he looked away from her and began speaking. "I never knew what family was like, until I met you and James. Those times, when we were kids, playing together on the Isle, those are the only happy memories that I have of being a kid."

This didn't come as a surprise to Ellie, but it still broke her heart to hear Sirius actually say it out loud. A single tear slid down her cheek as she moved her hand to his cheek and gently made him look at her. "I know that I can't have those times back, we're adults now, but I want to make sure that Harry and Ainsley have them. So, yes, I do want to have another child."

Ellie leaned down and kissed him gently. "But it has to be something that you want to," Sirius interrupted the kiss. "After all, you're the one that has to be pregnant and all, but it would be nice to be involved in the conception of at least one of our kids, rather than my stuff being in a tube." They both laughed at the characterization of Ainsley's artificial insemination.

"Love, my dearest love," Ellie started, "I would love to have more children with you. You're right, Ainsley is old enough now, it would be easier once a new baby got here. Well, I'll stop the potion right away, and we'll let nature take its course. You do realize, it will probably be a boy."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because, there's only one girl in each generation. Ainsley's it. If we have another child, it will be a little boy."

"A son," Sirius said, his face wrinkling with happiness. "Don't get me wrong, I love Harry, and he is my son, but to have a true Black heir..."

"It makes sense, sweetheart," Ellie said, confirming her understanding of what he was trying to say. "Harry will be the heir to the Potter family, Ainsley is the heir to the Maeve line and the Hightower fortune, and another boy would be the heir to the Black family heritage and wealth."

"So, we're really going to do this?" Sirius asked her again, a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes," she confirmed. "And I can't think of a better day to start practicing those baby making skills than today, and now seems to be the perfect time."

"I couldn't agree more," Sirius told her as he rolled them over, his body nestling between hers, and their dance of passion beginning as the sun began to stream through the windows.

Several hours later, the family was gathered outside, watching their big black dog chasing a little fox. The fox had the most interesting fur, it was so pale that the usual red coat appeared almost a pale copper color. The little fox could run faster than Padfoot, and had the advantage of being able to hide under things or in little burrows that the dog could not follow.

Harry and Ainsley were laughing at the antics, as the little fox jumped up on Padfoot's back and began nipping at his ears. Padfoot fell to the ground and the rolled over, pinning the little fox on the ground, and then licking the long face of the fox.

The fox scrambled out from underneath the big black dog, and went and hid behind Ainsley. The little girl was laughing so hard that she nearly fell down, it was only a steadying hand from Grace on her back that kept her upright. Ainsley sat down and the fox went and curled up in her lap. Padfoot lumbered over and fell down at Harry's feet. Harry began to pet the dog, and all was quiet for a moment, until the fox sprung up and nipped at the dog's tail.

The fox took off, running for the orchard, followed closely by the dog. A moment later, a flushed and panting Sirius and Ellie emerged from beyond the fruit trees, and walked back to where the family was sitting under the large shade tree behind the house.

"Mama, you funny," Ainsley told her mother. "You chase Papa."

"Yes, I was sweetheart," Ellie said as she picked up her little daughter and then sat back down with the toddler in her lap. "We haven't done that in years. Thank you for suggesting it dear."

"I always thought that it was much more fun to have you around," Sirius said. "You should have seen how she could pester James when they were both turned over. I'd toss her up on his back and she'd nestle herself down in his coat. He hated it because her claws would dig into him."

"The first time that they all came out, changed over, to stay with me," Remus started and then stopped, looking away. "I never knew that people could be like that."

"That is what friends are for," Ellie reminded him as she put a gentle hand on his knee.

"So you all learned at the same time?" Grace asked. She'd only learned about the fact that four of her friends were Animagus after the night Snape had sent her out to the shack.

"No, James and I were taught first. We explained to Mr. Potter what was going on, and why we wanted to do this. He agreed to help us, but we had to register when we'd learned," Sirius explained. "Turns out that Mr. Potter had tried to learn for years, but he couldn't find an animal that suited him. He worked with James and I every day for months, until we were finally able to do it. Of course as soon as we could, we had to teach Ellie."

"Because we did everything together," Ellie said, smiling at Harry. The little boy still loved to hear about the antics of his father as a child.

"Yes, except skinny dipping, your Mum put a stop to that like the second year we knew each other," Sirius complained.

"Yes, well, I don't think my Mummy was at all happy with the idea of me swimming naked with you. Jamie was fine, he was my brother, but you..." Ellie trailed off and shrugged her shoulders. "Do you remember that awful swimming costume that she bought you that first year. There were huge tigers and elephants on the darned thing. Thank Merlin that no one saw us, it would have been an embarrassment to be seen with you."

"You're one to talk, I seem to remember you in a pink suit that had a bumblebee face on the front, and the bumblebee back on your bottom, stinger and all," Sirius quipped back.

"I was seven, leave me alone," Ellie told him, holding onto Ainsley so that she could reach over and swat her father. As she did, Harry gave a great yawn. "It looks like someone is ready for their afternoon nap. How about if we go in, have a little milk and then head up for naps?"

"Okay, Mama," Ainsley said, wiggling out of Ellie's lap and standing up.

"Actually," Sirius said, "I would like to give my wife her birthday present now, and I want all of you there to see it."

"I thought that we were doing presents at the restaurant tonight?" Remus asked, looking concerned.

"Well, everyone else can, but this gift can't come with us tonight. Come on, it's in the barn." Sirius started walking over, and Ellie stopped, put her hands on her hips and questioned him.

"My birthday present is in the barn?"

"Yes, and Grace and Harry helped me pick it out. Come on, Lolly, you're going to love it." Sirius took her by the hand, and then reached down to lift Ainsley into his arm. Harry came and held Ellie's other hand as they traversed across the dirt road that passed through their property.

A few feet from the barn, they could hear the gentle baying of her gift. Ellie's head swung around to look at her husband. "You didn't?"

"Go on in and look," he told her gently, a wide smile crossing his face.

The family all walked into the barn, and there in the two middle stalls were a pair of beautiful horses. One was a mottled grey mare, lean and elegant standing in her stall. The other one was a taller stallion that was entirely black, save the small white patch on his face and the few white strands of hair in his tail.

Ellie had put her hand up to her face, in surprised wonder. She had always wanted a horse, since that first ride she had taken on one at the fair when she was a child. It wasn't practical for her to have one at the Potter Family home, there just wasn't space to keep one and her father didn't want her riding at a Muggle stable, for fear that she'd accidently do magic and there would be problems. She'd never mentioned it again, not after her father had told her no when she was no more than nine.

"I always wanted one," Ellie whispered quietly as she moved forward to pet the mare.

"That's Nuvola," Sirius explained as Ellie continued to stroke her hand down the side of the horse.

"Cloud, she looks like a cloud. Good pronunciation there, love. You're getting better with the Italian."

"This one," Sirius pointed to the stallion, "is named Birichino." Ellie turned and looked at him and started to laugh.

"You got yourself a horse named mischievous? Really?"

"It fit," he said with a shrug. "Would you like to ride?" The horses were already saddled and Ellie nodded her head.

"I wanna ride too, Mama," Ainsley cried out.

"Me too," added Harry.

"Alright, we'll take the two of you out with us for a short ride, but then you need to nap. You don't want to fall asleep in your risotto tonight, do you?" Ellie asked her children.

"No," Harry said shaking his head. "Can I have mine with sausage?"

"Yes, dear," Ellie told him and he smiled at it.

"I can't believe he calls them sausages and not bangers, what kind of a Brit is he?" Sirius whispered in her ear.

"A Brit that lives in Italy, that's what," she whispered back.

Ellie climbed up onto her horse, speaking gently to Nuvola as she did. Once she was settled, Sirius handed Ainsley up to her and Mother nestled daughter between her and the head of the horse. "You hold on to that handle there, Ainsley. I don't want you to fall off."

"Okay, Mama," the girl replied, nearly singing the words from her happiness. Sirius mounted his steed, and Remus handed Harry up to him. Ellie started to explain to Sirius how maneuver the horse.

"Lolly, stop right there. Do you think that I would buy these for us, and not take at least a few riding lessons? After the way the chickens reacted to me, the last thing I wanted was a larger animal getting un-nerved by my presence, especially with me upon it." Sirius had that cocky smile on his face and Ellie bowed her head in acquiescence to his smart thinking.

They started off just walking, exiting the barn and turning to the right so that they could walk on the dirt road up toward the vineyard.

"Faster, Doggy, please go faster!" Harry pleaded with Sirius and since he couldn't refuse the boy anything, he took off in a slow trot; Ellie following suit. Ainsley held on, laughing in delight, her dark curls bouncing in time with the steps of the horse.

They rode to the edge of the vineyards and then turned around and headed back to the house. They dismounted and Sirius lead the horses back to their stalls so that they could get a drink and relax. As he unsaddled them, he thought about how nice it would be to ride with Ellie later, watching her as she let the horse run; seeing where it would take them.

Ellie went in and put the children down to bed, and Grace and Remus returned to their home, and with the twinkle in her eye, Ellie didn't have to guess what the pair might be up to. She was so happy to see the two of them together and in love, but Remus was resisting taking their relationship any further. He wouldn't talk of marriage or children. Ellie was hopeful that the potion she was working on might change that for him.

Once the children were sleeping soundly, Ellie walked back out to the porch, carrying a tray with a jug of sangria on it, along with two glasses and some cheese. She loved the quiet afternoons when she and Sirius would stick close to the house and talk while the children slept. It reminded her of how content she was in her life now. She treasured these moments, knowing that they had a scant few years before the reality of who her children are would begin to take over their lives.

Once she had set the tray down on the table, she settled herself into Sirius' lap and gave him a long, passionate and deep kiss. "Thank you," she said when she pulled her lips from his; their foreheads still touching. "How did you know?"

Sirius rubbed his hand along her back, tracing small circles along her vertebrae. "Do you remember when we went to the fair for the first time?"

"I do. You bought me a giant lollipop. It was almost as big as my head."

"Yeah, there was that, but what I remember was you riding that horse. You looked so happy up there, and your hair was flowing behind you and your eyes were bright, and you just seemed like you were free," he explained. Ellie's face softened at his words, remembering the event the same way his words had described it. "Every year, when we would go back to that fair, I always made sure that you had the chance to ride, because I wanted to watch you look like that. I didn't know that it was possible to just be so...I never found that in my life, Lolly; but I found it in yours."

"Oh, Sirius..." Ellie quietly muttered, before her emotions inhibited her from saying more.

"Whenever I would wonder about when it was that I first felt something for you, it always came back to that day, and your hair in the sunlight and the joyful smile on your face. It's my favorite memory of you, well one of them, the way you looked this morning, glistening with sweat and moaning my name..."

Ellie didn't let him finish, as she kissed him with as much passion as before. Perhaps there was time for a replay of this morning's activities before the children awoke?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**Surprise**

**November 12, 1985**

Ellie Potter-Black threw open the front door and lunged herself into her husband's arms. "I am so glad that you're back," she whispered before kissing him.

"Hey you two, can you at least wait until you're inside before you go snogging each other to death, I'd like to get in the house too. It's cold out here," Remus complained and Sirius pushed Ellie gently into the house, his lips still connected to hers. Remus came in and greeted Grace in a similar, albeit shorter fashion.

"Papa, Papa, you're back!" Ainsley cried as she got up from the floor where she was playing. "Harry, Papa's back," she yelled up the stairs as she ran over. Sirius stopped kissing his wife, so that he could reach down and pick up his two and half year old daughter.

"How's my little sprite today?" he asked her and he hugged her.

"Better now that you're home. I missed you Papa."

"I missed you too, but do you know who I saw while I was away?" Ainsley shook her head no, her eyes were wide with excitement as she waited for his answer. "I saw the Weasley's while I was in England."

"Really? You got to see the Weasley's. I miss Ron and Ginny. I want them to come play."

"How was Inny?" Harry asked as he bounded down the stairs, having heard Sirius conversation with Ainsley.

"Glad to see you too Harry," Sirius said sarcastically, having not even gotten a welcome before the boy started asking about his best friend.

"Sorry," the boy said sheepishly, "welcome home. I missed you too. Now, how was Inny?"

"She's fine, they're all fine and..." he paused for dramatic effect, "Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Ginny will be here in two days time to help get ready for the baby."

"Oh thank the goddess," Ellie said, "it will be such a relief to have her here to help and Ron and Ginny to keep the kids occupied." With that, Sirius put his daughter down, tussled Harry's hair, which didn't help the unruly nature of the boys mop and then went and kissed his wife's very large midsection. Her due date was in a week, but she looked like she could pop any day.

"Hello my little one, Papa's home," Sirius whispered into her belly, and after he had stood, he walked her over to the couch, sat her down, sat down himself, lifted her feet and removed her shoes and began to massage her feet. "Why don't you two go and get your pajamas on and I'll be up to tuck you in?"

"Okay, Papa," Ainsley yelled before taking off for the stairs.

"Okay..." Harry paused, his face scrunched up in thought. "I haven't read any more of that book you gave me, so we're right where you left off before you left." With that, Harry went upstairs as well. Remus and Grace came over and sat down across from Ellie and Sirius.

"He's still debating on what to call us?" Sirius asked. Harry hadn't been calling them by their names for quite some time, but he wasn't calling them anything else either. He was very carefully avoiding names altogether. "Maybe we should say something to him?"

"No," Ellie said with a head shake, "this is something that he has to do for himself. So, how bad was the trip back?"

"I got there a few hours before she passed. She sounded like she did when we visited her in February..." Sirius paused. Neither of them had enjoyed their trip back to England earlier in the year. Ellie was remembering how hard it was to be there, listening to his mother. She was begging for absolution, to be forgiven, for her to be able to see her granddaughter. Sirius had considered it, until he asked her about certain events from his childhood, and she denied that they had happened. She denied that she had locked him in the basement, in the dark, when he was seven because he wouldn't swear to his father that he would never be friends with a Muggle born witch or wizard. She denied that she had derived pleasure from keeping him from his true love. She even went so far as to deny that she and Rosemund had tried to put the Imperious Curse on him to tell them where James and Lily were. After that, Sirius was certain that he would never let her near his children. The only saving grace from their trip was that they were sure that they had conceived their child while they were away. "I told her that I forgave her, even though I didn't really."

"Why did you do that?" Grace asked.

"She was so frail and I think that she just wanted to hear the words. She died not long after I told her that," Sirius responded.

"It was one of the most generous things I've ever seen you do," Remus told him. "You gave her more kindness in that one act than she ever gave you in your life." Sirius shrugged his friends compliment off, he just wanted it to all be over.

"So, did you have a chance to deal with everything, or do you need to go back and arrange the business part of things?" Ellie asked. She didn't want him leaving again, at least not until after she had given birth.

"Everything is done, Remus was quite helpful with that. Anything of value was taken out of the house and put in the vaults, my Mother's vault is now mine; and there is still the family vault. Apparently Narcissa has been raiding it, so I had to change the number of times that she can visit a year. I don't care about the money, but I'd prefer to not be looted by my own cousin."

"The house is closed up," Sirius continued, "I can't imagine that I'll ever want to live in it, but I own it, so...oh, and I let the house elf go. Never liked Kreacher when I was a child, really didn't want him around now. I'm sure that he'll go running to Cissy but I don't care. He doesn't know where I am, and I am not his master -- I gave him a pair of Ainsley's old slacks, bright pink with butterflies on them -- just to add a little salt to the wound of my letting him go." He had a rather proud look on his face.

"I brought a few things back with me, books that were in the library there that I thought you could use and a few of my things from my childhood that I'd like to give to the children," he explained and Ellie just rubbed his shoulder as he spoke. They would talk more in depth about it later, when they were alone.

"Did you take care of her remains?" she asked.

"I did, she's in the family mausoleum, right next to my father and the plaque for my brother. Cissy and her husband showed up, and nearly got into a fight with Andi and her husband. When it was over, we went over to Andi's house, had some supper and got to see her daughter again. She's quite a spitfire that Nymphadora."

"That she is," Remus piped up. "I don't think that I could live with someone who could change their appearance that much. It was exhausting spending one night with her." Grace giggled at him.

"Well, good to know that's one less woman I need to worry about taking you away from me."

"Darling, she's twelve, and in her second year at Hogwarts. Not a worry there, and no woman is ever going to take me away from you," he said, leaning over to kiss her.

"Then marry the witch, Remus!" Ellie yelled at him, sounding exasperated.

Remus turned his head to glare at Ellie. "We're not having this discussion."

"Yes, we, are." Ellie responded back and then she made eye contact with Grace. Grace got up from her chair, and went and retrieved something from the sideboard in the dining room. She handed it to Ellie, and when Sirius saw the phial, he smiled. "This is for you," she said, passing the phial to Remus.

"What is it?"

"If my calculations are correct, and I am quite sure that they are, it's the permanent cure to Lycanthropy. It will hunt out the wolf cells and destroy them within your own bloodstream. That's what I've been doing with the saliva samples that I've been asking you for. It may take us a few months to get the strength right, and make sure that all of the cells are gone; but that is the cure that you're holding in your hands."

Remus looked at the phial, gob smacked at the gift. He didn't have words, this was beyond anything that he had ever hoped for. He wasn't surprised that it was Ellie that had created it, she was a genius Potions Master, what did give him pause was that she had done it for him. "Ellie, I...I...thank you."

"You're welcome. I am so happy that I could do this for you, after everything that you've done for me over the years. I wouldn't have made it those first few months after Jamie's death without you. Now, you have no more excuses," Ellie told him.

He stood and walked the few steps over to Ellie and knelt down in front of her. "You have given me a life I never thought that I would have. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart." He then leaned over and kissed her forehead. Remus then stood and went and knelt in front of Grace.

"I don't have a ring or anything, but there is nothing I want more in life than to share it with you. Grace, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"It's about time that you asked," she quipped. Remus just looked confused. "My answer is yes you silly man. Do you think that I would have traveled to Italy with you if I didn't want to share the rest of my life with you? Now come on, we need to go home and celebrate this. I have a whole new shipment that came yesterday." With that, she stood up, pulling him with her and kissed him while squeezing his bum, and then pulled him out of Ellie and Sirius house.

"Do I even want to know what was in the shipment?" Sirius asked Ellie.

"No," Ellie said shaking her head. "It would make you blush. I just...never mind dear. How about if you take me upstairs and rub my back after you put the kids to bed, they're waiting for you."

"It would be my pleasure, Lolly."

A few days later, Harry was sitting in his room across from Ginny, their knees were touching as they sat on the floor. Ron had gone out with Remus to look at the horses, he was going to take him for a short ride. Ainsley was taking a longer nap, and he wasn't sure where Ellie and Sirius were, but they were still probably debating a name for the baby.

"I don't know what to do, Inny," Harry told her. "They feel like my Mama and my Papa, but I had a Mama and a Papa, and they died to keep me safe."

"I don't know, Harry. I never knew your other Mummy and Daddy, but I know Miss Ellie and Mister Sirius, and they love you like my Mummy and Daddy love me."

"I know they do, it's just..." he paused and thought for a minute. "Ainsley calls them Mama and Papa and I'm sure that the baby will, and we're a family, but..."

"But what Harry?" Ginny asked, reaching across for her friends hand.

"I don't want to hurt my other parents feelings." Ginny nodded at him.

"It's not nice to get your feelings hurt," she said very thoughtfully. "Sometimes my brothers hurt my feelings, especially Fred and George. They like to take my favorite doll from me and do things to her."

"They take Elizabeth?" Harry asked her, outraged that he brothers would do that to her. Harry had given her Elizabeth for her second birthday, Ellie had taken him out shopping and he had picked it out for her and left it with Mrs. Weasley to give to her on her birthday. "I'm going to tell them they have to stop that the next time I see them!"

"Thank you, Harry. You're a good friend."

"Best friend," Harry corrected her.

"Best friend and always will be," Ginny added and they both smiled. "I know what you should do."

"What?"

"I think that you need to talk to my Mummy about this. She's very smart and I bet that she will know what to do."

"That's a great plan, Inny." Harry said while standing up and then offering his hand to Ginny to help her up. "Come on, let's go and find her right now."

Their pair left Harry's bedroom and went downstairs. Mrs. Weasley was sitting with Ellie and Sirius in the sitting room, and Harry could hear them arguing about names again.

"Sirius, my love, I know that he was your favorite uncle, but Alphard is an awful name," Ellie told him bluntly.

"We could call him Al?" Sirius suggested.

"I suppose," she answered sounding throughly unimpressed with the idea. "How about if his middle name is Alphard, would that be good enough?"

"That is a fair compromise," he said and then leaned over and kissed her. "So, we still need a first name. How about Paul?"

"You want to name our child Paul Potter-Black?" Ellie asked disbelievingly. "That sounds like a tongue twister."

Harry and Ginny walked in and started laughing at the name. "Don't name the baby Peter, please."

"Ha, more votes on my side," Ellie confirmed and Sirius laughed at the family. "What can we do for you two?"

"I was wondering if I could talk with you, Mrs. Weasley." Harry said, and Molly nodded her head. "Um, alone, I mean with Ginny and you, if that's okay?" he asked as he turned to look at Sirius and Ellie.

"Of course, son," Sirius answered him, "go on."

Molly got up from her chair and went over to the two small children. Harry pointed at the kitchen and they went and sat down at the small table that was in the middle of the room. Harry and Ginny sat next to each other, across from Molly. Ginny could tell that Harry was quite nervous, so she reached over and gave his hand a little squeeze.

"Harry my dear, what can I do for you?" Molly asked him gently.

"Um, well...I need your advice on something," he said with the nervousness quaking his voice.

"Of course, there's nothing to be nervous about, you're just talking with me, child. Now, what can I help you with?"

"Did you know my first parents? Did you James and Lily?" Harry asked her and Molly got a gentle smile on her face.

"I did. I knew your father when he was little. Your grandparents would invite my family over for dinner on occasion and then when Arthur and I married, they would invite us. We were at their wedding."

"Oh, um, well, I know that I called them Mama and Dada, at least that's what I've been told. I don't really remember them, I just remember the stories I've been told and the pictures that I've seen," Harry explained. "Gosh this is hard."

"Harry, just tell my Mummy like you told me," Ginny gently prompted him, and he turned to look at her and she gave him a bright smile, which Harry returned.

"Okay," Harry said with a nod. "Ainsley calls Ellie and Doggy Mama and Papa, and the new baby will too, when he can talk, and I was wondering...would my other parents be upset if I called Ellie and Doggy Mama and Papa too? I want to have parents, real parents, like everyone else but I don't want to hurt my other parents feelings," Harry said as he started to have tears drip from his eyes.

"Oh, Harry," Molly said as she got up and went around to lift him from his chair, hug him tightly and then sit down in his chair with him on her lap. "James and Lily loved you very, very much and they wanted nothing more than to watch you grow up; but they didn't get to because 'He Who Shall Not Be Named' took them from you. But Harry, I know that your birth parents are so very happy that you're with Ellie and Sirius. I am sure that they are looking down from heaven, happy with the boy that you've become. I don't think that they would be upset with you calling Ellie and Sirius by those names. Think of it this way, you have one set of parents here on earth taking care of you, and another set up in heaven guiding you; and they all love you."

"You really think that?" Harry asked her hopefully.

"Of course, Harry. I can tell that you've been thinking about this, and I'm very happy that you wanted to talk with me about it, but I really think that you need to go out into the sitting room and talk with those parents of yours about this," Molly told him.

"I think you're right," Harry said, sliding himself off of her lap.

"Do you want Ginny or I to come with you?"

"I'd like Inny to come, if that's okay with you?" Harry asked and Molly nodded. Ginny slid from her chair as well and together the two children walked back into the sitting room. Ginny reached over for Harry's hand and gave it a squeeze just before they reached the couches.

"Fine, I think we can agree on this name," Ellie said, sounding relieved that the discussions were finally over. Harry went and stood in front of them.

"I need to talk with you about something," he said very seriously. Ginny went and sat across from the married couple on the other couch.

"Okay, Harry. Have a seat and tell us what you'd like to talk about," Ellie suggested and Harry did so.

"You know that I love you, right?" he asked them.

"Of course, sport. We love you too," Sirius responded, sounding a little concerned.

"I know. You're really good...parents," Harry told them, the last word coming out slowly. "I've been thinking...since you're my parents and Ainsley is my sister and the baby will be my brother and they call you Mama and Papa...if it was okay with you...I think that I might like to call you Mama and Papa too."

"Oh, Harry," Ellie started to cry. "It's fine with us, if you're sure that's what you want."

"I'm sure. I talked with Inny and Mrs. Weasley, and they told me that my other Mum and Dad wouldn't be upset, since you were taking care of me and loving me now. So, I want to call you Mama and Papa like my little sister and brother do."

"That sounds like a plan, sport. Come here," Sirius said, a little choked up by the whole thing. Harry got up and jumped into Sirius lap and hugged him tightly and then crawled behind Ellie so that he could hug her too.

"I love you Mama and Papa."

"We love you too, Harry." Ellie was crying and smiling at the same time, and from the far part of the room, Molly was watching and had tears in her eyes as well.

"Can we go play now?" Harry asked, ready to move on to whatever is next the way small children do. Ellie nodded and he got off the couch with some help from his Papa and Ginny stood and the two of them took off for the upstairs. When they were gone, Molly came over and sat down on the newly vacated couch.

"Thank you," Ellie told her.

"He'd already made up his mind, he just need someone to reassure him," Molly said, wiping her tears away. "So, have you finally come up with a name for this baby?"

"We have. Quinlan Alphard Potter-Black, honoring an important man from both sides of his family," Ellie announced and Sirius nodded.

"Are you sure that you don't need a girl's name, just in case?" Molly asked.

"Not going to happen," Ellie told her with complete authority. "One girl per generation, that's what the myth says. Ainsley's it, this baby will be a boy."

Molly looked at her with some skepticism. She had enough experience to never believe any wives tales or people's predictions about what a woman was carrying within her. If everything that the healers, friends, relatives and even strangers on the street had told her, she would have more girls than boys.

Not thirty-six hours later, Molly, Grace and Sirius were up the Master bedroom with Ellie as she was nearly through the birthing process.

"I can see the head, Ellie. Just one more good push and this baby will be out," Molly told her. Ellie tried to nod, but she was so tired after nearly twelve hours of labor.

"Lolly, my love, you can do this, come on, we want to see our little boy," Sirius encouraged her, placing an arm behind her back to help her sit up, and Grace doing the same on the other side.

The next contraction began and Ellie pushed as hard as she could and moment later she could hear the loud wail of her newborn.

Molly wrapped the baby in a soft towel, and gave the child a good looking over, counting fingers and toes. As she shifted the umbilical cord aside from between the baby's legs, she got quite a surprise. "Congratulations Ellie and Sirius, it's a healthy baby...girl."

"What!" Ellie, Sirius and Grace all said at the same time, and Sirius left Ellie's side to go and look. Sure enough, it was a perfectly pink and chubby baby girl, screaming her lungs out at being out of her warm home into the cold and bright place she was now.

"Ellie, I don't know, but it really is a girl." As Sirius told his wife, Molly put a cleaning and warming charm on the baby and then let Sirius use her wand to cut the cord. He then carried the baby over to Ellie and laid the little bundle down on her lap. The baby quieted as soon as she saw Ellie, and the new parents smiled at their child.

"I have no idea how we ended up with a second girl, but I do know one thing...we need to come up with a name," Ellie said, still completely engrossed in her little daughter.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi everyone, thanks so much for taking the time to read. I want to let you know that I may not be able to keep up with twice weekly updates on this story. I am not abandoning it, but I am very ill and finding it hard to make time to write each day. I hope that I will be able to continue with it, but if I can't, updates will go down to once a week. If you're concerned about missing a chapter, put me on Author or Story alert. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review. We find out the baby's name in this chapter, as well as some answers about what Ainsley is to do. Mutt**

**Chapter 6:**

**Guide of the Ancients**

**June 21, 1986**

"Molly, you're quite certain that this isn't a problem?" Ellie asked the older woman as they stood in the Weasley's kitchen. The entire Potter-Black family was back in England for the first time since their move, to be part of Remus and Grace's wedding that evening. Right now, however, there was somewhere that Ellie and Sirius needed to go.

"Ellie, your children are no problem. Harry and Ainsley can go and play with Ron and Ginny, and with you gone, I get to spend some time with this little angel here," Molly cooed the last part at the infant in her carrier on the kitchen table.

"I just feel badly, you've got a house full of boys, and I add to your load."

"It is not a problem. I haven't had a chance to spoil little Quinn here since I left the week after she was born. Now go on, I know that what you're doing today is important," Molly assured her.

"I hope that it works," Ellie said sounding exhausted and overwhelmed. Molly knew enough to not engage her, there were a great many things about what was going on that Sirius and Ellie kept very guarded, and she understood their reasoning. "Molly, if there is the slightest hint of trouble, please call Amelia immediately, even before you get hold of us. Your mirror will contact her the same way that you get in touch with us. Hopefully Arthur will be able to keep Remus distracted today, I wish we could be here with him, but..."

"They want you to do what you have to do. Go on, I've got everything that I need to take care of this baby and the other two. Go find your husband and take care of your things. Oh, and here is lunch for the two of you," Molly told Ellie as she reached for the sideboard and picked up a basket and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Molly. I don't know what I'd do without you," Ellie confessed as she hugged the other woman and lifted the basket. Sirius had come into the room, after he had checked on Harry and Ainsley. They were indeed playing quietly with Ron and Ginny. He picked up the bag that held Ellie's supplies, and they left the Burrow, and after a short walk, Ellie took her husband by the arm and they apparated away.

"Where are we?" Sirius asked her when they had regained their footing from landing on the hard, rocky coastline.

"We're just outside of Ballincar, County Sligo. I have to do this at exactly twelve o'clock, when the sun is at its highest in the sky. What time is it?"

"It's eleven-twenty, Lolly. Relax, we have time, and you're quite prepared. Come on, let's sit down and eat the lunch that Molly packed us," Sirius suggested and Ellie gave a nervous nod to indicate that she was fine with it. Sirius reached into the basket and pulled out the blanket that Molly had included and set it down on the ground. There were sandwiches, crisps and some homemade cookies, as well as two perfectly chilled butterbeers. Ellie kept reaching over for Sirius' arm to look at his watch, and when it got to be ten to twelve, he cleaned up the lunch and Ellie pulled the smaller bag with the supplies for the first spell out of the larger bag.

She faced the west and put an Aventurine crystal into the special holder that she had fashioned for it, and set it upon a rock near the shoreline. Then Ellie pulled out three comfrey blossoms, a lime, three magnolias and six sprigs of thyme. Using the thyme branches, she created a six pointed star and then placed alternating magnolias and comfrey in the small triangles that were created. She finally cut the lime into quarters with her silver knife and laid it in the middle, around the crystal in its stand.

When everything was in place, she took a small set of copper bells on a chain and began ringing out the tune of the ancient song for Litha, the celebration of the summer solstice. As the sun hit the high point in the sky, the crystal began to glow, and then sparks flew from it, igniting the sprigs of thyme, which in turn burned the flowers. The whole while, Ellie continued to play the simple tune on the bells.

Before them the island that held the castle seemed to materialize out of nowhere. They both stood there, shocked, but then Ellie shook her head, breaking herself from the stupor that she was in.

"Come on, we need to get going, we've only got an hour to get into the castle before it goes away again." Ellie reached into her bag and pulled out a glass jar, and then dumped the slimy contents into her hand. "Take one, Sirius."

"Gillyweed, really? We can't just use a Bubble Head charm or something?" he whined.

"No, because you can't enter the castle wards with any active spells on you, or you'll be thrown back. Come on, swallow the damned thing, and then get into the water." Ellie commanded, before reaching for the crystal, which had now turned dark, but was also infused with sun energy. It might come in handy some day. She swept the ashes off the rock and then swallowed her own spool of slimy plant life. She quickly withdrew her wand, shrunk the lunch basket and threw it into her own bag, which had been soaked in oil to make it somewhat waterproof.

Ellie joined Sirius in the water and they took off swimming for the island. The water was pleasantly warm, which was surprising, and Ellie couldn't help but laugh at the gills on the side of her husband's neck, and his hair floating around him like a halo. She'd at least had enough sense to pull her hair into a ponytail before heading out this morning, so that it would stay out of her eyes.

It was a long swim, but they didn't seem to tire, thankfully. They reached the shore of the island just as the gillyweed started to wear off. As they climbed out of the water, Sirius reached for his wand, but Ellie stopped him.

"No charms. We don't want to be denied entry," she reminded him calmly. She took a seat on the ground and once again took out her crystal holder and set it on a rock, and then rested the Celestite crystal in the center. Sirius looked at her impatiently.

"Now what?"

"We wait," Ellie replied. "When our guide appears we will know it, I promise. This is a test of our faith and determination to enter Maeve's castle. Come here, sit down and give me that Muggle lighter that I gave you before, please."

Sirius reached into his pocket and took out the lighter and handed it to Ellie. She pulled a large purple candle out of the bag and used the lighter to light the wick. Then she pulled some incense from her bag and laid the three sticks in front of her.

"What do you have there?" Sirius asked her.

"Lemongrass, Mimosa and Rose. They're offerings to our guide when she arrives. They represent cleansing, opening channels of communications and our obedience to the Goddess." Sirius looked at Ellie, and he could tell that she was quite worried about all of this.

"Lolly, you've done everything right," he reminded her. "You're the smartest witch I have ever known. Everything will be alright, I promise. We'll find out about Ainsley and Quinn." He then leaned down and kissed her lightly.

A few minutes later, a huge blackbird appeared in the sky, and began to circle over them. Ellie smiled and then went about lighting the incense and sticking the flaming canes around the crystal. They watched as the bird flew intricate patterns above them until it came and landed before them. By this time, the incense had burned out, and the tendrils of smoke were fading away. The bird touched its beak to the crystal, and through a brilliant white mist, a woman appeared.

Ellie urged Sirius to stand, and when they were on their feet, Ellie did a graceful bow, swinging her right leg from in front of her left, making a semi circle with it until it rested behind her left. She then dropped both her body and head. Sirius knew that he was to bow as well, so he knelt down on one knee before the woman.

"We are humbled to be in your presence, Queen Maeve," Ellie spoke.

"It is a rare thing for a mortal to reach the castle. Tell me, who are you and what is it you seek here?" Maeve spoke, and her voice sounded as if bells were chiming with it.

"My name is Eleanor Hightower Potter-Black, the current Princess of the line of Maeve. I have brought with me my husband, Sirius James Potter-Black. We believe that I have given birth to the child that was foretold."

Ellie and Sirius remained kneeling while Maeve thought about what was said. "Why do you believe that you are the mother of the child?"

"She was born near Eostara, and is the conjunction of three pureblood lines of Wizarding families. Also, our son -- our adopted son," Ellie corrected herself, "is the one who will battle the darkness. We believe that our daughter, Ainsley, is the one who was sent to help him."

"She really has arrived," the Queen remarked, her voice tinged with criticism. "Why have you not brought her to me? We need to begin her instruction."

"The child is only three years old, your majesty. She is hidden, as the forces of darkness sought her even before she was born. We are here to learn about what we must do to prepare her."

"I understand. Come, we have much work to do, and only a short amount of time to do it in," Maeve said. She walked past Ellie and Sirius, reaching out for something. As she did, the door to the castle appeared, and it opened of its own will and gave them entrance. The Queen walked in, and quickly Ellie and Sirius got up to follow her. Ellie grabbed her bag, as the supplies for their return trip were inside.

As they walked down a long corridor, Sirius reached for Ellie's hand. "Is she really Queen Maeve?" he asked in a low whisper. Ellie nodded, and Sirius eyes got wide.

They continued down the corridor, torches lighting along the walls as Maeve approached. They finally reached a large circular room, and it appeared to be in the middle of the castle. Along the wall were many thrones, and one was upon a low dais at the far end of the room. Queen Maeve walked to the dais, took the two steps up, and sat down in the taller throne. She waved her hand and soon others began to appear in the room, each going to their own seats.

From behind them came another woman. She wasn't solid, like the Maeve was; she was instead more ghost like. She brought with her two chairs, levitating in front of her as she approached.

"Do not be afraid, Princess. I will be here by your side," the ghost said and Ellie took a deep breath and nodded. She and Sirius sat down in the offered chairs and the ghost stood behind them.

"My daughters, we are very blessed today, before us sits our reigning Princess and her consort," Maeve announced, and the women around the room began to smile and look at each other and Ellie. "More importantly, she has given birth to the one who has been foretold by your sister, Princess Agatha Catherine." The Queen pointed at one of the women who was seated in the circle, and the Lady gently nodded her head.

Ellie noticed that the women were dressed in clothing from different time periods, but all of their garments were white and gold. They were looking at Ellie and Sirius very intently.

"Princess Eleanor has given birth to a daughter in the spring. The child is now three years old, and she is the sister to the one who will bring down the servant to darkness," Maeve explained. "We have waited for you, child. I have watched as my magic was pushed aside and our faith was lost."

"You are so much stronger than I predicted," Princess Agatha commented. "No one has ever made it to the castle on the first try. If your daughter has your strength, then we are fortunate and can be hopeful that all will be restored."

"Can you tell us the name of our newest princess?" another woman asked, this one dressed in a very simple frock dress, with her head covered and an apron around her waist.

"Her name is Ainsley Grace Potter-Black," Ellie answered.

"You have named her after Princess Ainsley Elizabeth Hightower. She was a very powerful witch and quite knowledgeable in her practice," another woman answered, this one in a very formal dress with a high collar and gloves on her hands.

"Sisters, some of you are going to be helping to teach Princess Ainsley and her brother...I'm sorry, we don't know your son's name?" Maeve questioned them.

"Our sons name is Harry James Potter-Black," Ellie responded.

"Is he Lord Potter?" Maeve questioned.

"No, your majesty. I only discovered recently in my brothers will that he passed the title on to my husband, until Harry reaches the age of majority," Ellie explained and Sirius looked at her surprised. Ellie gave him a look that let him know he shouldn't ask too many questions.

"A wise choice on the part of your brother. Please pardon my not calling you by your title Lord Potter," Maeve said and Ellie was thankful that Sirius simply nodded his head.

"I will be giving Princess Eleanor the Book of Truths," Quene Maeve said, looking around the room at her princesses. " She will be able to access your page and beckon you to come. Princess Edna, you are to teach the child about the magical creatures, and how they can aide her." A woman in a very heavy looking gown with a large collar nodded and smiled.

"Princess Ailbhe, I request that you teach both combat and defense," Maeve asked, and a the woman dressed in what appeared to be a dress made of a rough material.

"Since she is the one who told us of the child's coming, Princess Agatha you are commissioned with telling the stories of our history and the history of the wizarding world." She wore a simple dress, reminiscent of Ellie's wedding dress, and her head was covered.

"Gormaith, you dear one are asked to teach them the language held by the Runes." Ellie decided that she must be very old, as she was dressed entirely in furs.

"Ráichéal," Maeve continued, "you are to teach them about healing." This woman was quite young, and her dress was particularly plain; but there was a gentle warmth coming from her that put both Ellie and Sirius at ease when they looked at her.

"Muriel," the woman dressed in the very formal dress with the gloves nodded as her name was spoke. "You are going to teach them how to fly."

"We will need the children to learn about the faith. Who better than someone who died for her faith. Keira, will you do the honors?" Maeve asked and a youngish woman nodded her head. She was wearing a very heavy looking dress and a wig which appeared to be powdered. Ellie wondered how she walked with something of that height on her head.

"Lastly, Collinda my dear, will you teach the spells from the family book with me?" Maeve asked and Ellie and Sirius looked for another woman to affirm their participation, but they could see none. It wasn't until a voice from behind them made them aware that it was the ghost standing behind them.

"Of course your Majesty. With your permission, I should also like to act as their guide and intermediary. I feel a kinship with Princess Eleanor," Princess Collinda said and Maeve nodded.

"I don't doubt that you would," the Queen answered. "Now, here is the Book of Truths. Should you need help in any other area, please let Princess Collinda know, and one of your sister Princesses will be there to help you." With that, a large tome in a deep purple cover materialized on Ellie's lap. "I believe that your family can cover the other areas of education, such as Potions, Charms, Divination and Astronomy?"

"Yes, your majesty," Ellie responded, understanding that the Queen knew all of their strengths and what the family could provide from within.

"Now my dear, I will leave you to Princess Collinda's care, unless you have other questions for me?"

"Actually, your majesty, we do have one. Can anyone explain how we have had a second daughter?" Ellie asked and every woman in the room looked at them shocked.

"Did you just say that you had a second daughter?" Maeve asked her, sounding as surprised as everyone looked.

"Yes my Queen. Our daughter Quinn was born seven months ago. We were quiet surprised by this, as I understood that there could only be one daughter in each generation."

"This has never happened before, none of us even saw it coming," Maeve spoke, but not really addressing her comments to anyone. Loud discussion erupted around the room, and the Princesses began discussing it among themselves. Princess Collinda left them to go and speak with Maeve, and Ellie and Sirius just looked at each other.

Ellie and Sirius were peppered with questions, and in the end, no one was sure what the birth of a second daughter meant, but it was decided that when she was old enough, she would be taught like her sister and brother. It was also decided that even though the family was in hiding, additional protection would be provided.

"Princess Collinda, I ask that you stay with the family at all times, and when you reach the children, put upon them the sign of the Wren. If they are ever in danger, Princesses will be at their sides to provide them safe passage to this castle, where they will be safe. Now Princess Eleanor and Lord Potter, the hour is getting late, and you must leave the castle before the sun sets. I hope that you will come back and visit us at the next solstice. I bid you farewell," Maeve said, and with that, everyone was gone, save Princess Collinda.

"Come now, please. We must get you from the castle before sundown, or you will be here until the Winter Solstice," she said and Ellie and Sirius got up quickly. Sirius took the heavy book from Ellie, and then took her hand in his.

"We do not want that," Ellie said, and they moved quickly from the room.

"You will have to come back, so that you can see the wall of portraits. There are pictures of your mother and grandmother there," Collinda explained.

"Can I speak with them?" Ellie said hopefully.

"You can, and in the future, they will be invited to the meetings, but the Queen did not want to overwhelm you today." They reached the front door, and it opened without being pushed. "Since I am going with you, this will be an easy trip back. Please, each of you take my hands and open your minds to your children. I will take you to them."

Sirius and Ellie obeyed, and the hall glowed white, and then they were gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: See, it only took a week. Sorry about the shortness of the chapter, but it was a good ending place. It will probably be a week for the next chapter as well. Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. I love hearing what you all think. Mutt**

**Chapter 7:**

**It's about &#*! time!**

The trio landed comfortably on the lawn outside of the Burrow, and Sirius and Ellie looked at each other and then at Collinda.

"Okay," Sirius started, "that was much better than apparating. None of the irritating nausea."

"Yes, well, one of the gifts of being who I am is that I can move through time and space much easier than you can, and the Queen has made sure that I can carry your family with me, when needed. Now, I need to mark your children, where are they?" Collinda asked as she headed toward the house. Sirius thought that she was quite uppity for a ghost, even if she was a ghost of a princess.

"They're in the house, with our friends. If we just go waltzing in there with you in tow, you're liable to upset some of their children," Ellie explained.

"The only ones that I will be visible to are your family. Now come on, I need to give them the sign on the Wren as soon as possible. It is the only way that we can ensure their protection." Collinda was again floating toward the house at a rather alarming speed. Ellie and Sirius caught up with her, and went into the house first. Harry and Ainsley were sitting on the floor playing with Ginny and Ron. The two Potter-Black children just stared at their parents and their ghostly companion.

"Hello children," Sirius said to them. "How about if we head back to our house now, so that we can get dressed for Mus and Grace's wedding?" The children were still looking surprised, and not moving.

"Papa, why is that lady..."Ainsley started to ask, but Sirius picked her up and kissed her cheek. He then whispered in her ear:

"We'll talk about it at home, alright princess?"

"Yes, Papa," the little girl replied.

Ellie returned from the kitchen, holding Quinn in her little carrier and thanking Molly for watching the children, and explaining that they needed to get back to Potter House so that they could get dressed and ready for the wedding. She promised that they would see them at the wedding location. As quickly as they had arrived, Ellie, Sirius and their children were gone. Molly was left wondering what the rush was all about.

In a very short time, the whole Potter-Black family was back in the Potter family house, and immediately Ainsley and Harry started peppering their parents with questions, while little Quinn was crying.

"Papa, who is she?"

"Is she really a ghost? She looks like a ghost."

"Why is she here?"

"Alright you two," Sirius said, holding his arms up to let the children know to be quiet. "This is Princess Collinda, and she is with us to help keep the two of you safe, and she will be teaching you some special lessons." The children both quieted down and looked at the woman dressed in a white and gold dress. It had a flowing skirt, accompanied by a hip length jacket. Her blouse buttoned all the way to the neck, and she wore a cameo pin at the very top. Collinda had gloves on her hands, and her hair was pulled in braids across her head. Ellie had settled Quinn down with a nursing, and she too was studying Collinda's clothes.

"Hello children," Collinda started in a very calm voice, her Irish lilt obvious, but not overbearing. "As your father said, I am here to help you learn and to keep you safe. One of the ways that I am going to do this is to put the sign of the Wren on you. It won't hurt, and no one will be able to see it but my sisters and I; but should you ever be in danger, we will be there to help you. Now, can you each roll up your sleeves, and let me see your right arm.

Harry immediately rolled the correct sleeve up, but Ainsley just looked confused. Sirius came over and knelt down behind her and gave a little tug on the correct sleeve so that she could lift it. Collinda came over to Harry first and laid her hand upon his arm, and a small purple Wren appeared to be glowing on his forearm. A moment later, it faded, leaving only the faintest of glimmers behind. Seeing how her brother hadn't moved or complained, Ainsley held her arm out, but she also held her breath as the ghost marked her. Finally, Collinda floated over and marked little Quinn while she nursed.

With the excitement over, Sirius sent the children upstairs and then followed, hoping to get himself and them dressed for Remus' wedding, as they had less than an hour before they had to be at Grace's family estate. Ellie was still nursing Quinn, and Collinda settled down next to her.

"She's a beautiful baby. You truly threw the Queen into a thither when you told us that you'd had another girl. We're not sure what it means, but several of my sisters were going to check the Books of Prophecy to see if there was something that we missed," Collinda explained. "Your Grandmother will be among them."

Ellie looked up and smiled. "That gives me some comfort. Collinda, may I ask you a question?"

"You may ask me anything, dear."

"Why are you not corporeal like the rest of your sisters?"

"The rest of my sisters went into death prepared, I did not, and therefore was tied to the mortal world, and could not pass completely into the spirit world. Queen Maeve has been working on it since my death, but I cannot break free," Collinda explained.

"Why? What happened to you?" Ellie asked, concerned about what it meant to be prepared for death.

"Early on in the Book, there is an incantation that must be said to prepare oneself for death. It asks the goddesses to release the body from this world, and to give it permission to cross over. You can't say it too far in advance, because it might be seen to be asking Death to come and find you, which is why I was caught without saying it."

"Princess, how did you die?"

"My dear Princess Ellie, before I can tell you that, I need to tell you about my life. I was the last of the line to teach at Hogwarts. Before I was let go and my classes were discontinued, I could see what was happening. The Headmaster hadn't been raised with our faith or customs, and he saw no need to have them. I stopped teaching in June of 1863. My husband and I took our daughter and tried to live in London, but after being in the quiet of Hogwarts for all those years, the city was too loud, too busy, too crowded. Then my husband was struck down by the Scarlet Fever epidemic."

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I would do if I lost Sirius."

"That is one thing about us Princesses, it took Maeve so long to find her true love, that we have all been blessed with finding the man who can live with us, love us and honor us for our whole lives. Barney was a good man, and a powerful wizard, but his real gift was in woodworking. He could make the most beautiful things..." Collinda trailed off and looked away sadly.

"After Barney died, I tried to stay in the city, but it was too much, so I took my daughter and moved back to Ireland where my mother was still alive. We lived there quietly for several years, and my daughter grew and became of age and was married. You've met her, Princess Muriel; she will be the children's flying teacher. She was also your great grandmother."

"Really," Ellie said with her eyes opening wide. That makes you my great-great grandmother. It's very odd to think that all of you are my family."

"It does take time, but I found great comfort in being with them, and it helped to ease the pain of not being with my daughter," Collinda explained.

"How then did you die?"

"I had walked into town one day, to take the cloth that I had woven in to the store there to be sold -- it was my only source of income. Suddenly, there was screaming, and shooting and things being set on fire. I tried to leave the town, but I was shot in the back. The Fenian uprising had been building all over Ireland that day, and it hit full force in Limerick that day. They never did find the man who shot me."

"How horrible!" Ellie exclaimed. "You were murdered."

"I never thought that I would die that day, and so I hadn't said the blessing. It happened so fast that I didn't have time to utter the words before I expired, and that is why I am the way I am now."

There was a sad silence between Ellie and Collinda, the weight of not only how the ghost princess had died, but the implications of dying without the blessing were settling themselves in Ellie's mind.

"Lolly, love, is Quinn done?" Sirius yelled down from upstairs. "I need you to help Ainsley with her hair, she says that I can't do it right."

Broken from her stupor, Ellie responded. "I'm coming dear," she yelled upstairs and made her apologies to Collinda before taking off upstairs.

A little over twenty minutes later they arrived at Grace's family home. Ellie and the girls were all dressed in gowns of bright, sunny yellow and white. Sirius and Harry were dressed in verdant robes, and they all quickly made their way to the respective rooms that held the bride and groom. The Potter-Black's would be standing up for their friends as they had stood for them years earlier.

Remus and Grace were both dressed in robes of gold for the ceremony, and it wasn't long after Ellie and Sirius got there that the ceremony was to begin. There were about 100 people in attendance, including several staff members from Hogwarts. Thankfully, Albus Dumbledore was not among them.

Grace held a bouquet made of Fennel and St. John's Wort tied with a red ribbon as she walked into the Ballroom at her parents' home. They chose to be handfasted, and Ellie and Sirius were responsible for tying the cords around their hands. Once all the bands were in place, a prayer to the Sun Goddess Ainé was said to bless their marriage. They then exchanged rings.

Finally, there was the presentation of gifts between husband and wife, Remus giving Grace wheat and she giving him woven cloth, both to secure the hearth and home that they would share in their marriage. Remus then gave Grace a ceremonial dagger, promising that he would always protect her. Grace in turn gave Remus a copy of a spell book that had been passed down for generations in her family. This would secure that magic would be used for good in their home.

Finally, they were declared husband and wife, and the kiss that they shared was long, passionate and began to make the guests uncomfortable. It wasn't until Sirius cleared his throat that they realized they'd been at it too long.

The reception was a grand affair, and Grace's family had pulled out all of the stops. Platters piled high with fruits and vegetables, breads of all kinds, fish and oysters that her uncles had caught themselves. Roasted geese and pheasant as well as whole boar and venison on the spit. Finally, an eight tiered wedding cake with enchanted sugar butterflies floating and flying around it came out.

Before the cake was sliced, Sirius rose to give the traditional toast. Ellie looked at her husband skeptically, worried about what he could say to them. "I've known Remus and Grace since our first day at Hogwarts. My wife and I, and our best friends, pushed the two of them to date while we were in school. Here we are, a nearly a decade later, and they are finally wed. I have only one question for you mate: What the bloody hell took you so long?" The gathered guests shared a chuckle, and Remus turned red. When the noise had dimmed down, Sirius continued. "Raise your glasses with me, please. To Remus and Grace, may you always have health, happiness and peace in your home."

Sirius clinked glasses with both the bride and the groom, and then with his wife, and drank down the Elf made wine that was being served with the meal. Ellie took only a small sip, as she was still feeding Quinn.

Shortly after dessert, dancing began. Ellie and Sirius danced several dances from their youth, including a rather energetic reel and slow waltz. They stared into each other's eyes, and remembered the balls that they had danced at as children, and felt comforted by their memories.

When Ellie had sat down to give Quinn a feeding in a quiet place in a small room off the ballroom, Collinda decided to make herself more visible, in order to talk with Ellie.

"That was a beautiful wedding," the ghost remarked. "Barney and I were handfasted as well."

"That it was, and I couldn't have been happier that they found each other, and were finally married. They've had a bumpy ride to get here, but I don't know what I would have done without them a few years ago. They saved my life, and gave me back the man I love," Ellie said, clearly distracted by her memories.

"What do you mean?" Collinda asked her.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you another time, I promise," Ellie brushed the ghost off, not wanting to relive those unhappy days right now.

"Alright, but I do plan to hear the story. Tell me, when do you plan to return to your home?"

"We were going to leave tomorrow morning. There are people here who would very much like to get at our children."

"Can you delay for a day?"

"We can," Ellie answered, "but you'll need to tell me why."

"There is one more place that I need to take you, and some other spirits that you need to meet. Princess Ellie, do you think you can go to Hogwarts?"

Ellie stopped and thought about it for a moment. "I think that Sirius and I could, but I wouldn't dare to take the children with me, and by now, I am sure that our presence in England would be known. There were far too many guests at this wedding. I need someplace safe to leave the children, and someone who could watch them."

"Well, speak with your husband about someplace safe, and as for someone to watch over them, I believe that your mother and grandmother would be more than willing to spend some time with those little darlings that you have there," Collinda said.

"Really, my Mummy could come and see her grandbabies?" Ellie said, sounding moved by the idea.

"It can be arranged."

There was silence between the two women for a moment, and then Ellie had a look of puzzlement set on her face. "Why do I need to go to Hogwarts?"

"You need to meet the Founders, of course," Collinda replied plainly.

"The Founders? The Hogwarts Founders?"

"Yes my dear sister, they reside there, in the Founders Room. I will take you there, and you can speak with them."

Ellie continued to be in shock, and simply nodded her head in response. The only thing that she could think of was what she would do if she ran into the Headmaster while she was there.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Hi everyone, here's the next chapter -- quicker than I expected to get it to you. I will warn you, my beta is reading this as I post it, so there may be some typos and such, please excuse them if you find them. This chapter is almost twice as long as the last one, so for those of you who weren't happy with the short one, this should be better. Thanks so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing. It really is helping me cope with my health issues. Mutt**

**Chapter 8:**

**The Lessons of the Founders  
**

The Potter-Black family stood in the tree lined square, across from the row houses on Grimmauld Place, staring at the somewhat decrepit facade of number thirteen. Ellie held Harry and Ainsley by the hands and Sirius was holding Quinn. Collinda floated next to them, though she would have been invisible to anyone who passed by the family.

"I can't believe this is where we are going to leave the children," Ellie sneered under her breath. "I hate this place."

"I know, Lolly," Sirius tried to comfort her, but his voice sounded hollow in his attempt. "I grew up here and I wish I weren't setting foot in here either, but it is the best place to hide them."

"We should be getting inside," Collinda reminded them. The couple sort of nodded and then checked to make sure that there wasn't anyone on the street, as their disappearance would be noticeable. The family walked across the street, and as they stepped into the wards of the house, they could feel them crackle and hum against them.

Sirius climbed the stairs first, taking out his wand and tapping on the door to make it open. The door swung inward on it's own, and he looked back to make sure that his wife was following along. When everyone was inside, the door closed on it's own accord.

The house was in much sadder shape than it had been when Sirius was last here. Nearly a year without anyone cleaning it didn't do a thing for the old place. "I think that the ballroom would be the best place to keep them. It's large and empty," Sirius told Collinda, and she nodded.

Suddenly, their conversations were interrupted by screaming and cursing in his mother's voice.

"Damn it, the portrait is awake." He both cursed and complained. "Collinda, can you get them there without taking them by the portrait? I don't know if she has another one in someone else's house, and I would hate for her to give away our location."

"Most certainly, Sirius," she replied and instantly, the children were gone; even little Quinn who was resting in his arms. He shook his head to released the flustered feeling that had gripped him. Sirius then looked down at Ellie and kissed her lightly. "We should go and see if we can quiet old mum down."

Together the pair trudged up to the landing her picture was on and stood before the screaming picture. It quieted some when she saw her son and his wife, but only some. Instead on her generally cursing anyone who had set foot in her house, she now began yelling at him.

"Where have you been? It's been a year since I saw you, couldn't even bother to show up when I was dying, could you? And where is my elf? I need Kreacher to clean my frame!"

"Mother," Sirius started, "I did come and see you when you were dying, I was there with you, I'm quite sorry that you don't remember." Sirius was kicking himself for forgiving her before she died, knowing that it had been for naught. "I've been at my own home, Ellie had another baby and we needed to stay close to home. As for Kreacher, I let him go and live with Cissy when you died. I didn't want him here all alone."

"You didn't want him here all alone? What about me! I've been so lonely..." Walburga began to drone on again, and Sirius made eye contact with his wife, and indicated the velvet curtain that covered her picture and Ellie nodded her head and smiled. Together they covered the wild portrait of his mother up. Her complaints began to die down, and the pair began climbing the stairs together, Sirius remembering the stair that squeaked, and climbed over it first, and then gave his hand to his wife to help her pass it as well.

When they reached the first floor landing, they were greeted with the happy sounds of their children laughing, and Ellie recognized the sound of her mother's voice. It had been seven years since her mother had passed, and Ellie felt a pull to be with her mum that was as strong as it had been in life.

As Ellie rushed into the room, she stopped in her tracks when she saw her mother, dressed in the fine robes that Ellie and Jamie had bought her to be buried in. Being mostly corporeal, Ellie flung herself into her waiting mother's arms and was cradled in a way that she had missed since her mother passed.

"Oh, my sweet Ellie," Margaret whispered into her daughter's hair. When Ellie was able to look up again, Margaret took her face in hand and looked into her daughter's eyes. "You've done so well, better than any of us had ever dreamed, my sweet girl."

Ellie greeted her grandmother while Margaret went to her son-in-law and embraced him as well. There was a sense of calm that came over the couple as they watched their three young children play with their grandmother and great-grandmother. Collinda simply stood off to the side, watching the younger generations of her family reacquaint themselves.

"She's a beautiful baby," Margaret commented as she held Quinn, "but we cannot explain why she was born. There is no precedence for a second girl."

"I have read everything that I can find," Ellie's grandmother piped up, "this was my specialty, and yet...you must watch her very carefully, she is bound to be nearly as powerful as her sister, and if she were to fall to the other side..."

"That will not happen, I would die before I let anyone hurt a hair on my children's heads," Sirius said in a commanding voice, and none of the women doubted him.

"I always knew that you were the one for my daughter," Margaret told him, "that first time that you showed up, when you were all so little..." she trailed off, as if lost in her memory. No one said anything, but she finally lifted her head and looked at him straight in the face. "I know that they are all safe with you there."

"Thank you, Mrs...Mum." Sirius corrected his mistake, even though in his heart, the Potter's had been his parents much more than his biological ones had ever been.

"I hate to disrupt this reunion, but we really must be going," Collinda said, and Ellie and Sirius nodded at her. "I promise that this will not be your last time with them. They can come and visit, just as the others will."

The trio left the room, after kisses and hugs with each of the children, and descended the stairs -- carefully avoiding the squeaky step as well as the slumbering portrait -- and left through the front door. Without ever leaving the wards, they were whisked away by Collinda and found themselves inside the entranceway to Hogwarts Castle.

"I didn't think that you could apparate in and out of the castle?" Ellie questioned Collinda.

"You can't, but I don't apparate. The castle isn't warded against us, since the bloodline has been here since the castle was built. Come on, we need to be getting to the Founder's Room," she said, taking off toward the stairs.

"Why can't you just transport us there," Sirius said, moving quickly to catch up to their ghost. Ellie was having more trouble, as her legs were much shorter.

"It's one of the rooms that changes locations within the castle. I am using my magic to find it. Come on, no time to waste."

The trio rose up the staircases, and held still as some of them moved. It wasn't until they reached what they thought was the fifth floor, that they ran into someone that surprised them.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked.

"I teach here," the man replied.

"You teach," Ellie laughed. "What do you teach? Grumpiness? Rudeness?"

"Potions," Severus Snape answered and Ellie just shook her head. "I could ask you the same thing. I doubt that you have as good of an answer."

"We're here with the blessing of Minerva. There is something that I need to research," Ellie said confidently.

"The Library is several floors below," Snape droned back.

"I never said that it was in the Library. Now, may we please pass?"

"I find it rather strange that the Headmaster was called away the day that you are here. He has been wanting to see you," the Potions teacher told them, and both Ellie and Sirius were surprised by this, but didn't let it register on their faces.

"We had nothing to do with that," Sirius answered honestly. Snape just chose to ignore Sirius.

"You know, Eleanor," Snape started, using her full name, since he knew that it bothered her, "we were all surprised when you stopped showing up for meetings. Didn't think that someone so creative would just stop working." Ellie knew that he was talking about the International Confederation of Potions Masters meetings. They were held quarterly, but Ellie had not gone since she had stopped working while pregnant with Ainsley.

"Severus, I have had other things on my mind as of late. I continue my research, even if I am not employed by the Ministry any longer."

Severus looked at them for several minutes, and then his face widened into a maniacal smile. "I knew it was you!" He sneered. Ellie just held her face, not wanting to give anything away. She knew that he was talking about the Lycanthropy cure. Ellie had sent it to Prentiss two months ago, and it was now being made and distributed widely. She had told him that it was to come from their lab, but her name was not to be associated with it.

Severus grew agitated that Ellie said nothing, so he continued. "At that first meeting, after it was reported that the cure had been found, that was all that anyone could talk about. No one at the meeting took credit for it, so I knew that it had to be you." Ellie continued to be silent.

"You had such...always so perfect in class...why did you waste it?" He sounded angry at Ellie, which was odd to the nth degree.

"I know that you might find this hard to believe, but there is nothing wasted about my life. I just chose my husband and children over the potions lab. Now, if you would excuse me," Ellie told him calmly, trying to push past. Ellie made it about seven steps down the hall before she heard Severus yell back at her.

"Perfect Princess Potter, you're going to be in deep trouble one day, and it might just be today. I will get in touch with the Headmaster and get him to return, post haste." Sirius turned with a look of rage on his face. He hated that anyone had called his wife such a thing. It was only Ellie's gentle hand on his arm that stopped him.

"He isn't worth it, and we have more important things to do. I am far more talented than he is, and he knows it. I suspect that it's hard to live knowing that you're only going to go so far in life," Ellie said loud enough for all parties in the hallway to hear. The couple made their way down the hall, being lead by their unseen ghostly guide. "Nice to see that time hasn't made him more...personable."

Ellie and Sirius felt no need to discuss it further, Ellie simply twisted her wedding ring, and her husband wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

They climbed one more set of stairs and Collinda lead them to a statue of a fairy. She gently caressed her face, and then they fairy seemed to melt away, revealing a door behind her. On the door was the crest of each of the Founders, and Collinda simply pushed it gently, and the door gave way, giving the trio entrance. As the three vanished behind the door, it disappeared, and the statue grew back in it's place.

When they were inside, Sirius drew something from his pocket, and Ellie smiled at it. "I figured that it would be good to make sure we knew who was in the castle and where they were."

"What is that there?" Collinda asked.

"That is the Marauder's Map," Ellie said with pride. "Sirius and my brother, Jamie, made it. It's a magical map of the castle."

"Really, let me see it," Collinda asked, and Ellie moved over so that she could hover over it. "Not bad, you got about sixty percent of the castle."

"What?" Sirius asked, sure that they'd done better than that.

"I'm impressed by that Sirius, but you only got the visible parts of the castle, you don't have the invisible. If you talk with the Founders, they might give you more information."

"Wait, you are telling me that forty percent of the castle isn't visible to the students here?" Collinda nodded. "What about the staff?" To that she shook her head.

"Princess Collinda," a booming voice said behind her, and the trio turned to face the Founders of Hogwarts. Each was dressed in their house colors, and they were each holding something in their hands. "I believe that you have someone to introduce us to?"

"Sorry, sir, but you really do need to see this map. It's quite remarkable." The man nodded in response to her comment. "Great founders of Hogwarts, may I present to you Princess Eleanor Hightower Potter-Black and her consort, Sirius James Potter-Black. They are the parents of both the one who will fight back the darkness, and the Princess who was foretold."

"Sirius, Ellie, may I present Godric Gryffindor," she said, pointing to the man in red and gold. He was a huge man, flaming red hair and beard, with a kilt peeking out from under his robes. The man nodded at the pair. "Rowena Ravenclaw," Collinda pointed to the woman next to her. She too was tall, refined and her features were quite angular. She gave them a curt nod, but it lacked the warm smile that Gryffindor had given them.

"Next is Helga Hufflepuff," Collinda told them, and this time, a short, round and friendly woman stepped over to them and hugged them both, saying, "We've been waiting so very long to meet you. Welcome, welcome." As she stepped back into the line, both Ellie and Sirius thought that she was much like Molly Weasley.

"And finally, I present Salazar Slytherin," Collinda said, and a man who was shorter than Sirius nodded at them. He had dark hair, mustache and beard, and for a moment Ellie was caught by the resemblance between her husband and the founder; but she quickly changed her mind. It wasn't Sirius that he looked like, it was Regulus. Slytherin's face was harder and less welcoming than that of her husband.

"You're probably wondering why you needed to come here today?" Gryffindor asked them and Ellie smiled.

"Well, it was a bit like walking into the lion's den for us. If Albus Dumbledore had been here...well, he's rather unhappy with us and it could have been quite uncomfortable."

"He won't be returning today," Gryffindor assured them. "I've made sure of that." Both Ellie and Sirius had to stop and think about that. "You're here because we have teaching aids for you to use with your children."

"Also, we want to make sure that you know of the secrets of the castle, you will need them someday," Hufflepuff told them. "Come, let's sit down and discuss this, and I am quite sure that Salazar is going to want to look at that map of yours there."

They all made their way to the table, each sitting down with the exception of Collinda, who hovered at the table, in the place where there was no chair. Castle secrets were shared, and one by one their gifts were given to the couple. At some point, lunch appeared before them and they shared in the noon repast together. All had lost track of time as they spoke, Ellie getting wound up in a conversation with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff about child rearing and Sirius going over the map with Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"Don't ever bind their magic, unless they are well under two," Ravenclaw explained to Ellie. "If you do, they will never have full control over it. Instead, start teaching them from the time that they can talk how to control their magic on their own, and what the consequences are."

"We've been trying, but they're all so strong," Ellie confessed.

"You're doing fine, child," Hufflepuff told her. "We've been watching you since that first night you took Harry in. Motherhood has never been worn so well by one so unprepared."

"Thank you," Ellie said. "I just want them to know that they're loved and cherished and that they have a childhood."

"If you had not moved them away, we would have come to you sooner to tell you to do so. Thankfully, you had enough sense to do that on your own. I always knew that you belonged in my house." Ravenclaw said with pride.

"We all wanted her," Hufflepuff reminded her. "Ellie, you should have heard the argument that went on while that hat was on your head. All of us bickering for you to be in our houses. Finally, Godric said that he was getting you, since you needed to be with your brother and Sirius. We argued over all three of you actually. You all had traits that would have made you fine members of each house."

"You mean that while the sorting is going on, you're watching and telling the hat which house to put the child in?" Ellie asked, somewhat surprised.

"That's exactly what we mean. Might have been Godric's old hat that we used, but we all have a say," Ravenclaw confirmed. Ellie just added it to the secrets that she had learned today, feeling overwhelmed by it all. Her ear was drawn to the conversation that her husband was having.

"I can't believe how badly things have gotten," Slytherin said. "Those cretins have...at least you have proved yourself better than the rest of my lineage."

"There are others in the family. My cousin Andromeda Black Tonks is good, she married a Muggle born Wizard who is...well, he's quite funny and they have a very smart little girl who sees the world differently than the rest of my family."

"Great, three of you; at least your children give me hope," Slytherin said, sounding disgusted.

"You know, you're nothing like what you get painted out to be here at school. We're all taught that you didn't want Muggle born or Half-Blood children to be taught at Hogwarts," Sirius explained.

"I was a young man when I said those things," he sighed. "Please, remember, when we formed the school there was turmoil in the country. We were being attacked by the Vikings, we had distention in our own ranks -- neighbors killing neighbors. It wasn't a safe time to be a Witch or Wizard. I thought that it would be best if we only worried about the Pure-Blood children, to keep the magic alive. I saw the errors of my ways quite quickly, especially once I met Godric here."

"Why would meeting you make a difference?" Ellie asked, now fully joining their conversation.

"Why, I was Muggle born. It was only discovered that I was magical when I was about seven years old. I went to Ireland, to be taught by Maeve's descendant, only because she came and got me."

"Eadaoin speaks of that day often, says it was one of her finest moments when she discovered you. She was so proud of you, and all that you did in life," Collinda interjected. No one had heard her speak for several hours.

"I thought of her as a second mother," Gryffindor confessed. "Through her, I met these three, and together, we went on to build something that has lasted all of these years."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it is time that I be getting you two back to your children. It is nearly time for supper," Collinda told them, and Ellie looked at her horrified.

"I never intended to leave the children for so long."

"They're all fine, I've been keeping tabs on them through your Mother and Grandmother. Be sure that you ask Princess Margaret about her little conversation with Walburga's portrait. It will be quite enlightening," Collinda said with a slight laugh on her lips.

Sirius and Ellie began to get up, thanking the Founder's for the time that they had spent with them that day, and for the items that they were taking home with them. The Founder's promised that they would be available to answer any questions that they had in the future, and with that, Ravenclaw pulled from her robes a crest and handed it to Sirius.

"Should you ever need any one of us, or all of us, just lay your hand upon the symbol of the crest, and call to us. We will be with you presently," she explained, and Sirius ran his fingers over the raised animals on the wood before him.

"We don't have words to thank you," Ellie started. "What you have told us, all that you have given us, it's just...thank you."

"No, it is we who need to thank you, for you are raising the ones who save our world. We will do all that we can to help you," Slytherin told her. "Oh, and please make sure that they wear that Black family name well, since it would appear there are few that are worthy of it."

Sirius put all of the items into a special bag that Hufflepuff had given them, which shrunk and concealed them, and after a final goodbye, Collinda whisked them away. They didn't run into anyone as they left the castle.

Sirius told Ellie about the changes that each of them had made to the map, and how much more he'd learned about the building. Ellie shared her talk with the two women about raising their very magical children. When they all arrived back at Grimmauld Place, Collinda suggested that they simply leave and head back to Italy. There was something happening that night, and she didn't feel comfortable with the family staying in England.

Grandmother Ainsley said that she would return to Potter House and bring their things to them, and Margaret accompanied Sirius and Ellie back to their home in Italy. The children were fed and put to bed, with the exception of Quinn, who Ellie needed to nurse, since she hadn't all day. Collinda disappeared into thin air, but Ellie knew that she would just need to call her, and she'd reappear.

Her grandmother had left as well, needing to report the days activities to Queen Maeve. She had also had tried to read little Quinn's future, but it kept coming up blank, which unnerved the elder Ainsley. She wanted to discuss it further with her sisters.

Ellie, Sirius and Margaret sat on the back porch, enjoying the summer night. They had told her in detail about what they had done that they, and she in turn explained what she had done to the portrait.

"Quinn had awoken from her nap, and was hungry and crying; and Harry and Ainsley were flying around the ballroom, making a fair bit of noise, and all the sudden I heard that wail of hers," Margaret said with a shake of her head. "Never liked that woman, even when we were in school together," she added under her breath, and it made both Sirius and Ellie smile. "Anyway, I went down, and she started crying about my getting to play with the children, and she was demanding to see them, and I didn't want to hear her anymore, so I bricked over her portrait. I hope that you don't mind."

"Mind? Mum, you did a great thing. I didn't want to listen to her either. Thank you so very much. If we ever have to live there, I'd like to do it without her screaming."

"Live there?" Ellie asked her husband, her eyebrow cocked. "We'd have to be really, really desperate to live there." They all laughed together, and when it had died down, Ellie took Sirius by the hand and then looked at her Mum.

"Do you ever see Jamie and Lily, or Daddy?"

"All the time, my sweet. Your father," she stopped and sighed. "You would think that you had been made the Minister of Magic, he's so proud of you; both of you," she added, looking at Sirius now, "for what you are doing. He couldn't have asked for you to be any more than you are right now, my dear child." Ellie got tears in her eyes at the thought of her father being proud of her. "You always were your daddy's girl, weren't you?" Ellie nodded her agreement to the question through her tears.

"James and Lily are," Margaret paused. "It was hard for them, dying as they did, having to leave their baby boy. It took them a long time to acclimate, but now, oh Ellie, Sirius, they are so happy with the boy that's he become. They were overjoyed when the two of you were finally able to marry, and they've seen your little girls and...they just wish they were here to share it with you."

"I wish that too," Ellie said, crying harder now. "I miss them both so very much."

"They know dear, they know," Margaret told her daughter as she grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. Sirius wrapped his arm around Ellie and pulled her to him. "Oh, and my son has a message for you Sirius. He says: 'It's not polite to lick a fox that way!' is what he told me to tell you. I hope that it makes sense to you."

Immediately Ellie and Sirius began to laugh loudly, thinking about their nighttime romp the other night. Suddenly, Ellie stopped and looked horrified. "Tell him to stop watching us having sex! That's just...ewe!"

Margaret and Sirius looked at her shocked, and then Sirius realized what the comment really meant, and he was shocked and irritated at the same time. "I will be having a talk with your big brother." Margaret announced in the tone that she recognized from her childhood and with a little smile she thought, Jamie's going to be in trouble. She felt like she was a carefree child for just a minute, and her brother was still with her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Hi everyone, an update -- yeah! I will warn you, it hasn't been to my beta, so there might be some mistakes. I apologize in advance for them. I will continue to write this story, but I was diagnosed with cancer last week, and it's a real struggle to write now, due to the pain meds and my persistent sleepiness. I have the whole story mapped out, and I promise that it will get done. There will be another chapter soon, as this one was getting unwieldingly long, so I broke it in two. The beginning is sad, and I considered taking the sad part out, but in the end, I left it. Again, thanks so much to everyone who has read and reviewed, and especially those who have sent their well wishes. Mutt**

**Chapter 9:**

**Wishes and Blessings**

**March 20, 1988**

Around the long dining table in the farmhouse in Ceneselli, Italy; the family sat, dressed in their best robes, all in whites and pale shades. Harry and Ainsley had collected the eggs that were colored and setting in a woven plate that Ellie had made from the young vines that were pruned off the grapes earlier this spring. The plate was pointing toward the east, toward the rising sun. She lit the candles on either side of the plate, the one on the left was black, the one on the right was right, saying the ancient gaelic blessing over the eggs.

One by one, the members of the family would take an egg and say their wish for the year, before peeling it. It was said that your wish would come true if you could get your shell off completely in one piece. Sirius, as the head of the family, started.

"My wish for the year to come is continued health and happiness for my children and that I will finally learn how to milk the cow," he told them and then began to peel his egg. The last comment had made everyone giggle, because more times than not, the cow kicked him as he tried to milk her. He made it about half way around the egg before his shell cracked. He finished the job, placed the shells in another shallow plate that was on the table, and put his egg on his own dining plate.

Sitting to his right was Harry, who carefully chose the bright green egg that he had charmed the color onto himself. "My wish is that Inny can come and visit more." Even after being in Italy for five years, Harry and Ginny were as close as ever, often talking on their mirrors every night. Harry didn't make it far before his shell cracked.

Next was Ainsley, who predictably chose a pink egg. "I hope that Aunt Grace's baby is a girl." The five year old didn't even attempt to get hers to come off in one piece, knowing that even with all of her practice over the last weeks, she still couldn't do it. Being the practical child that she is, she simply smashed it on the plate, breaking the shell in two and then removing the halves.

Ainsley was sitting next to Aunt Grace, who was just shy of eight months pregnant with her and Remus' first child. "My wish is that this baby would be born, and soon," she told them. Grace then pulled her wand out and charmed the shell off the egg, all in one piece.

"Gracie, that's cheating," Ellie told her in a half mocking voice.

"El, right now, I need all the luck I can get," Grace told her back, and everyone laughed and smiled.

Remus was sitting at the other end of the table, and as he selected his egg, he thought for a moment, and then said : "It is my wish, that the peace and contentment we had found here continues to surround us." He very carefully removed his shell, and did it all in one piece. The adults knew what he was talking about. None of the family had been in England since their wedding, it turns out that it just wasn't safe anymore.

The night that the Potter-Black's had fled, there was a small uprising of former Death Eaters, lead by Thornfin Rowle. They had found out that the family was in the country, and they were scouring London to find them. Since they had been at Sirius' family home, there was a good chance that they could again find it. They gave up Grimmauld Place as a safe haven, and had not returned. Remus and Grace did not go back to her parent's home, but instead came back to Italy from their honeymoon. Amelia had brought their gifts to them several months later, along with the news that Dumbledore had hired investigators to see if they could find the Potter-Black's. He was quite furious that he had missed them while they were in the country. The Queen and the Princesses were providing a magical cover, so that no location spell could reveal them.

Once Remus' egg shell was in the place, little Quinn was next. At two and half, there was no way that she could peel an egg, but she was going to try anyway. "I wish for my own pony." This wish surprised no one, since it was all that she could talk about. In recent years both of her older siblings had gotten ponies, and Quinn thought that it was only fair that she have one too. Ellie helped her peel her egg, and there were only six or seven bits to the shell. As her mama scooped them up and put them on the plate, Quinn decided that she was too hungry to wait and began to eat her egg. Harry protested that he had to wait, but Papa reminded him that at seven he could suffer his hunger pains for a few more minutes.

Finally, Ellie's turn came. She lifted a brightly yellow egg and held it in her hands for a moment, and then looked at Sirius and said, "It is my wish that the goddess will look down up on me today, and grant me the blessings of this day." A sole tear ran down her cheek as she began to peel the egg. Her shell was coming off in a nearly perfect strip, right until the end, when it cracked and left the cap on the egg. Ellie let out a sigh, and hoped that it wasn't an omen for her prayer.

With everyone's eggs peeled, they were each served the warm blueberry muffins and sweet herbal tea to have with the egg as part of their morning meal on Eostara. Ellie was quiet through the meal, helping her youngest daughter with her food, but saying little else. When all were finished eating, Ellie blew out the candles, and let the wax harden while she took the dishes to the kitchen. Since today was a holiday, the children didn't have their regular lessons, and were instead going to spend the day playing. Uncle Remus had promised to take them down to the river by their home to go fishing. They never came home with any fish, but they had a good time nonetheless.

With the dishes cleaned, and the wax hardened, Ellie removed the candles and placed them with the eggshells, and walked out to the garden. Beneath each of the fruit trees she dug a little hole in the ground, added some of the wax and a few shells, as a gift to the goddess.

She finally went into their greenhouse and dug beneath the small orange tree that was planted there. The blossoms were just coming out, and she hoped that this would bring them what they so desired. As she was finishing putting the dirt back over the top of the gift, her tears were falling onto the soil, as if somehow her sorrow could leave her and help to give this tree life.

Sirius walked up behind her and after setting something down on the bench next to him, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his head next to hers. "I thought that I might find you here."

"The orange blossom is for fertility, I figured that it couldn't hurt," she whispered, her tears still cascading down her cheeks.

"Lolly, love, do you want to stop trying? It seems to be ripping you apart."

"I don't think that I do, but..." Ellie started weeping harder, and Sirius turned her around in his arms. "After we lost him, and he was so close to being born, I just..."

"I know, Lol, I know," Sirius told her. They had both been heartbroken when their son had miscarried at seven months. After that, it took a while for them to try again, but when they did, they miscarried again. Ellie had been so upset that she even went and asked Queen Maeve if they had somehow been cursed and that's why they weren't allowed to have any more children. The matriarch assured them that no such thing had happened, but that since it was such a deep desire for her to have more children, she would ask all the princesses to guard her next pregnancy. Fear had kept her from stopping the charm for the last six months. Together, Ellie and Sirius had decided that since this was a blessed day to become impregnated, they would begin to try again.

When Grace had gotten pregnant, it was only weeks after they had lost the second baby, and their best friends had waited to tell them until it was absolutely necessary. While Ellie was happy for her friends, and knew that they deserved it and would be wonderful parents, the pain was overwhelming for her. She had fled the house, and gone out and stretched herself beneath the small dogwood tree that they had planted where they had buried their infant son. Sirius found her there, unconsolably pleading with the Goddesses that she be given another son, one that would carry his name, and be his heir. It broke his heart.

Sirius reached for the item that he had laid on the counter, and handed it to Ellie. She smiled down at the pink carnations that he must have transfigured for her. He then lifted a small pot, as well as the plate with the last of the remnants from their morning meal. They walked the small distance to where the tree and the small marker were located. Ellie dug a hole under the tree, and gave the last of the sacrifices to the land that gave the tree root; and then above them, she planted a purple hyacinth plant, as a gentle reminder of how much she loved the little boy who was buried here. Sirius had laid the carnations by the marker, it simply had the rune for boy carved onto the stone, the couple choosing not to give the baby a name, since they had never agreed upon one. A tall post was behind the stone, and up it grew a beautiful blue clematis, to signify their eternal devotion to this child.

Sirius then sat down, and pulled Ellie into his lap, leaning against the trunk of a larger tree that was across from their little memorial. Neither said anything for a long while, but Ellie's crying had finally ceased.

"Love, if you don't want to try again..."

"Sirius, stop," Ellie told him, putting her hands to his lips as she turned around. "I want another child, one that doesn't have a prophecy or a death sentence hanging over them. I want to bear you a son, and I want us to try today. Today represents the balance between light and dark, with the light growing stronger. Perhaps, it's more like happiness and sorrow for us. We've had our time of sorrow, now it is our time for joy."

They stayed there for a while longer, and then walked back to the house in time to begin making lunch. What Ellie didn't know was that Sirius had a surprise planned a surprise trip for them. Tonight, they would be going to Venice for a romantic evening alone, and tomorrow, Remus and Grace would be bringing the children with them, and they would all be spending a few days touring the city of canals.

* * *

The next morning Ellie awoke, her arms wrapped around her husband. The sun was beginning to shine in the window, and she could hear the water of the canal lapping against the side of the house that Sirius had rented for the trip. A contented smile and a purr of happiness came from her when she thought about the night before. While they made love often, sometimes every day, there was something throughly romantic about the way that Sirius had adored her body last night that made it simply amazing. She had every intention of repaying the favor this morning, but they would have to get to it, and soon, as their family was due by mid-morning.

Ellie ran her hand down Sirius chest, stopping to run her fingers over the tattoo over his heart, and then let it slip lower. She swirled her fingers along the line of hair that lead to his navel, and then did the same to the one that lead away from it. Her hand caressed his muscles, how toned the were, and how they couldn't help but lead her eyes down farther. She ran her hand over his hip bones, she didn't know why, but she found them utterly sexy and the sight of them, when his pants hung low, often made her catch her breath. Maybe it's because he's always had that same shape, even when they were little and they would skinny-dip.

Sirius began to stir, but she knew that he wasn't fully awake, although certain parts of him were fully up already. She dipped down lower in the bed, resting her head on the hip of her lover that was closest to her, and trailed her finger up and down him. When she reached the top, she would swirl it around, and then let it go all the way to the base, where she'd give it a little squeeze. She repeated this a few times, and then she did the same with her tongue. When her mouth fully enveloped him, she knew that he was awake by the moan of gratitude that he gave her. It wasn't long before he had wrapped his arms around her, pulled her up and helped her straddle him.

*************

The children arrived with their escorts by ten-thirty, and by their greetings of their parents, you would have thought that Ellie and Sirius had been away for a month, rather than just about eighteen hours. Quinn wouldn't let go of her mother's hand, even when it was time to eat, so Quinn and Ellie sort of fed each other the pizza that they were eating in the little alfresco restaurant where they had gotten lunch. Most of the family was sharing in the cheese and vegetable pies that they'd ordered, but Aunt Grace had her own, seeing as no one else wanted Anchovies on their pizza. She had ordered double the slimy little fishes on hers.

After lunch, the family returned to the rented house so that Quinn could take a quick nap. Harry and Ainsley sat in the window and watched the gondolas going up and down the canals, waving at people as they went by.

"So, should I put the charm on you?" Grace asked Ellie, and Ellie just lifted her eyebrows and looked at her friend.

"No."

"Come on, I have a good feeling about this time."

"Yes, well, it hasn't been the getting pregnant part that's been difficult now has it? It's the staying pregnant part that I have issues with."

"But we could know..." Grace started in.

"Darling, stop pestering Ellie," Remus gently chastised her. "Isn't your being pregnant enough?"

"Of course it is, but she's at the fun part, when you're wondering and waiting and all excited. I'm at the fat part where you've forgotten where your feet are and pass gas all day long." Grace then shifted on the settee she was on, and proceeded to do just that.

"Nice one, Aunt Grace," Harry yelled from his window seat.

"Yes, folks, that's my son," Ellie added sarcastically. "I'm going to go and lie down for few." With that she rose, and began to walk down the hall to the master bedroom.

"All worn out from last night, eh, wild girl?"

"You know Grace, for a woman who still has boxes delivered to her from a certain French Potions and Supplies lab, EVERY MONTH, you really shouldn't be picking on me for being 'worn out'. Remus often looks like he's been through the ringer when you're finished with him in the morning," Ellie retorted, continuing to walk down the hall and not looking back.

A while later, Sirius came in to awaken Ellie from her nap. He sat down on the bed and brushed her hair aside and kissed his way up her neck. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she smiled at her husband.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes, I should apologize to Grace. I shouldn't have snapped at her."

"Lolly, don't worry about it. She deserved to be reminded that this is much harder on you than it was before. Remus made sure that she understood that. Come on, Quinney is awake and ready to head out. The other two desperately want to take a gondola ride."

Remus and Grace decided to stay at the house while the family went to explore, as Grace's feet had swollen to a rather uncomfortable size after lunch. Sirius carried Quinn, while Ellie held onto Harry and Ainsley. The first thing that they did was get into a gondola, where their gondolier sang them silly songs and entertained the children until they reached their destination.

The _Galleria dell' Accademia _ was their first stop. There were several works that Ellie wanted the children to see, and to find out their interpretation of the pictures. Ellie knew that there were hints of witchcraft or of the sacred days in the paintings; but she wanted to see if the children would recognize them.

The strode up to the first one, where there were some small cherubim conversing with a large black wren. The children looked at the picture and then looked at their mother.

"The wren has brought a message from the goddess? Right?" Ainsley asked.

"That is how I would interpret it, yes my dear. Now, what does it say there about the painting?" Ellie pointed at the little plate under the picture and Harry leaned in to read it.

"Angels, I don't see any angels? Protecting the creatures?" Harry stopped and shook his head. "These people don't know what they were seeing."

Harry's comment caused them all to laugh, and they went on in their visit. The children commented on several of the portraits, and as they passed some of the nudes, Harry's eyes got wide, so his Mama rushed him through the room. Once they were through, Sirius leaned in and whispered in his wife's ear.

"I guess that men have gotten larger in the last few centuries, or maybe all Muggles are that small."

Ellie choked on her laughter before giving her husband a dirty look. After an hour and a half, Quinn started to get restless, so they decided that they needed to get out and do some running around. They each had some gelato, which all of the children ended up wearing. Ellie ducked behind a fountain and magically cleaned her children up before they headed to their next stop.

Around the corner from the _Galleria_ was the _Peggy Guggenheim Collection_, and Ellie wanted her children to see some modern art, to compliment the more traditional and historical pieces they had just seen.

The colors of these paintings were brighter, and even Quinn seemed intrigued by some of them. Harry and Ainsley were holding hands and walking around the large gallery room together. They were never out of eye shot of their parents, but they were granted this small freedom.

"I just don't see it, Harry," Ainsley complained. "How is that a tree?"

"I don't know. I mean, I guess that green blob up there is the top?" Harry said, pointing to the top right side of the painting.

"But then what is that red thing under it?"

As the two children conversed about the painting, the failed to notice that another little girl had come up next to them, looking at the same picture.

"You speak English?" she asked.

"Yes," Harry replied. "So do you."

"Well, I should, I'm from England!" she said indignantly, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, we were both born there, but we live in Italy now." Harry told her, and then went back to looking at the picture with his sister. His grip on her hand tightened just a little.

"Why did you move here?" she asked. Harry paused for a minute. Both he and Ainsley knew the real reason that they had moved here, but he also knew that he wasn't supposed to tell.

"My Mama and Papa wanted to buy a farm," Harry told the girl. It was the already agreed upon answer.

"So, your parents are farmers?" the girl said, sounding rather unimpressed. Harry and Ainsley looked at each other, unsure what they were supposed to say next.

"Sort of," Ainsley replied. "Can I ask you; do you see a tree in this picture?"

"Well," the girl said, "um, well, there's that green there..." she trailed off, unsure of how the picture was of a tree as well.

The girl joined Harry and Ainsley as they toured the rest of the room, and they learned a lot about her, and the school that she went to in England. She was very surprised to find out that both Harry and Ainsley didn't go to a conventional school, but were instead tutored by their Mama and her family. Harry didn't give any more details, which suited him just fine.

After a long while of looking in the large hall, a man and woman came up to the girl.

"Oh, you've made some friends, sweetheart. Would you like to introduce me?" the woman asked.

"Of course, Mummy, except I don't know their names, which is really quite silly of me, since we have spent all this time together. Who are you?" she asked Harry.

"I'm Harry and this is my sister Ainsley."

"There we go, Mummy and Daddy, I would like you to meet Harry and Ainsley. Harry and Ainsley these are my parents, Dr. and Dr. Granger. They're both dentists. My name is Hermione."

"It's very nice to meet you Harry and Ainsley, but we must be going. Come along, Hermione."

"Let me just say goodbye," she asked her parents and her father nodded yes. "Harry, Ainsley, it was very nice to meet you. If you ever come back to England, I hope that we will see each other again. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Hermione," the pair said in unison as the girl with the bushy brown hair left the museum gallery.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Happy New Year Everyone!!!! I hope that 2010 holds happiness and promise for you all. I am actively back to writing, and my goal is to finish this story before I am operated on, on 1-21. The entire story is mapped out, and we are at the halfway point. If you have anything that you want to see, story lines given more emphasis, please let me know. Enjoy this chapter, but be warned, the angst is creeping back in...you're forewarned. Have a great holiday, wherever you are. Mutt**

**Chapter 10:**

**Birthday Visitor**

**August 1991**

"Quinney, honey, watch out for your little cousin," Ellie yelled out to her youngest. They were playing in the paddock behind the Weasley house, and Quinn had knocked over her three year old cousin, Andy. Quinn had gotten used to being the youngest in the house, and when Grace and Remus son, Andrew John Lupin was born, she didn't take it well. At almost five, Quinn Potter-Black was a force of nature: smart, articulate, opinionated, passionate and in constant motion.

"Yes, Mama," the child replied back, sounding bored that she was once again reminded that she had to be gentle with the littler ones.

"I've got him, Miss Ellie," Ginny replied, going back and picking the toddler up. At ten, Ginny had turned into a lovely girl, destined to be a beauty as she grew up. It was a surprise that the Potter-Blacks and Lupins had shown up for her birthday party. She had claimed that it was the best present that she got, especially since it meant that Harry was here with her. He went over and helped her with his little cousin, smiling at her as she hugged the toddler.

Molly, Grace and Ellie were watching the children play while the men were in Arthur's shed with the oldest of the Weasley sons; Bill, now twenty and Charlie, eighteen. Molly was quite suspicious of what they were doing in there.

"Honestly, a Muggle car! What in the world does Arthur need with a Muggle car? He doesn't even know how to drive it," Molly stated rather animately.

"Both Sirius and Remus know, maybe they're teaching him," Grace said as she snuggled her daughter. Rachel Eleanor Lupin was almost six months old, and was the apple of her daddy's eye.

"Right," Ellie said skeptically, "because I'd ever let either of them drive without a repelling charm on the truck we have. Honestly, I think that Sirius aims for the goats."

All three laughed, and then went back to watching the children. It had been a long few months for Ellie, as she had been traveling through Europe, trying to save her family. The attack had come from out of the blue, and it had left them all shaken. Sirius had stayed with the children, along with the protection of the Princesses, while Ellie tried to combat the forces that were working against them. If she was honest, she'd admit that she was exhausted and just wanted to go home. Their local home.

While traveling, Ellie had purchased a new home for the family in England. It was not far from Coniston, but the Manor house was so secluded, few of the townspeople had ever seen it; now, they couldn't. The entire house had been warded, shielded and to all eyes, save the few that knew that the Potter-Black's owned it, it appeared as if it had disappeared, much like the mythical village of Brigadoon in Scotland. It would not, however, reappear every fifty years; she'd made sure that the warding was ever renewing.

When the first wave came, she immediately sought out the counsel of the Founders. They had been helpful in devising a strategy, especially Salazar. Her offensive caught everyone off guard and the siege was quickly put to rest. The second wave was much more difficult to fight off, but again, Ellie had been able to best her opponent. While she was confident that there wouldn't be another onslaught, she was also prepared for anything. She just needed a few more years, just a little longer with her children home with her and still innocent.

Harry was now quite talented in his magic. Naturally gifted at both Potions and Charms, Ellie and Remus had respectively expanded what they had initially thought that they would be covering with the boy. He was far ahead in Astronomy as well, enjoy the nights that he and his Papa spent out looking at the stars. Sirius had constructed an observatory on the hill in the back of their property, housing both a high powered Muggle telescope as well as an enchanted one. Being so far from any real city, viewing was unobscured by nighttime lights.

However, his best subject surprised them all. Harry had soaked in all of the History that Princess Agatha and her sisters had taught him. He'd learned how to put things that he was learning in other classes into a historical context -- recognizing how situations had effected the progression of other areas of study. This was nowhere more evident than in his combat and defense training. He could often predict what an opponent would do before they had even done it, effectively disarming his partner before the battle had even begun.

If Harry was cerebral and strategic, Ainsley was the complete opposite. Intuitive and sensitive, she was often aware of her surroundings as if she had a sixth sense about them. Like all women in the line, the eight year old was instinctual about potions and healing. There was a finesse to her magic that reminded Ellie so of her daughter's namesake; due in no small part to the amount of time that the young witch spent with her great-grandmother.

Ainsley took to Divination with a robust fervor that dismayed her mother, but delighted her Aunt Grace. Already quite adept at card, palm and tea reading; Ainsley was learning the more difficult arts of reading stars and runes. All of the children also had a great reverence for the tenants of their faith. The family regularly took time to thank the goddesses for their bounty and to request guidance on their journeys. Ellie and Sirius prided themselves on their raising their children within the old ways, without slipping into the ways of convenience and adaptation.

While the children did study for about six hours a day, six days a week, year round; life was not all work. The farm now housed not only chickens and cows, but they also had horses for all, geese, sheep, and goats. Ellie had refused to let the children have any pigs, as they were quite messy and she had no intention of slaughtering them so they would not yield anything for their livelihood.

The family also traveled a great deal, visiting many of the major cities of Europe and exposing the children to the culture and the people. They'd been to all of the great museums, and taken in continental Quidditch matches when they could. All three of the Potter-Black children were fluent in English and Italian, and could comfortably converse in French and Spanish as well. They also were competent in Latin, as it was the language of magic, as the Queen had explained to them; and Gaelic, the language of their heritage.

Sirius and Ellie had attempted to have another child, but after three years of trying following the late miscarriage of son, they had decided to stop. As Harry got older, they were aware that he was drawing closer to the time when he would have to face Voldemort; having a very young child would not be to their advantage. Still young, Ellie hoped that perhaps she and Sirius could have another child when all of this was over.

As parents, they had debated how much to tell their children about what lay before them. In the end, they had gone with full truth and disclosure. Harry and Ainsley knew about their prophecies and it helped them accept their expanded education with greater ease. It was more difficult with Quinn. Their youngest still had a shrouded future, regardless of who read her. Ellie tried not to worry about it; knowing that it could mean nothing, since her birth was such a surprise. Just because she tried, didn't mean that Ellie succeeded.

"Mama, Mama, look what I found," a small voice roused Ellie from her thoughts. She looked down to find Ainsley holding a small bird in her hands.

"It's beautiful, sweetheart. How did you pick it up?" Ellie asked her daughter.

"It just hopped into my hand. It's a robin, right?"

"It is my dear, very good. I'm surprised that it just hopped into your hand, that's a rare gift there, to have creatures trust you so. Make sure that you are gentle with it, and that you put it back where you found it. It could be someone's mother," Ellie explained and Ainsley nodded.

"Okay, Mama," the child responded before bounding off, her hair pulled into two ponytails at the back of her head, curled from the humid air. Ainsley and Harry looked so much alike, they could pass as blood siblings, rather than just first cousins. Their little sister, however, looked like their Mama; long blonde curls and bright brown eyes.

"That was...the bird hopped into her hand?" Molly asked, surprised by the gentleness that would be required to have such a thing happen. Ellie nodded in response.

"That is my Ainsley, I think that creatures can sense her spirit somehow. Last year, my horse had trouble birthing her foal; Ainsley went out and calmed her, just by talking to her. The yearling has taken quite a shine to her, and I swear, she will be the only one to tame her," Ellie explained and Grace nodded in support.

"Your children are remarkable," Molly gushed. "Never, with any of my children, would an animal have trusted them so. Even Ginny, I wanted to dress her up and have her play with dolls; but instead, she climbed trees and made mud pies."

Ellie laid a hand on Molly's arm, comforting her. "I should think that it was having six older brothers. She had to grow a rather thick skin."

"I suppose that you're right," the elder woman sighed.

Conversation turned to her boys, where they were in school and in their careers. Both Bill and Charlie had impressed Ellie with their daring careers and expertise. She couldn't help but look at them, and hope that her son would one day have an important job within their world. The thought was quickly banished, as she knew that it was foolhardy to look for things that might never come true.

Dinner was served, as was the cake that Molly had made her daughter. Molly had wanted to make her daughter a castle cake, with a little sugar representation of her daughter as the princess. Ginny had insisted that the cake be plain, with orange writing. She wanted nothing too fussy or feminine.

Ginny opened her presents with gusto, saving Harry's for last. Ellie was anxious to see what the young girl thought of the gift. Ginny ripped the paper from the package, and was surprised to find a painting inside. A gentle smile crossed her face as she looked at the picture, and then looked up at Harry.

"It's beautiful," Ginny whispered.

"I saw it in one of the museums that we went to, and it reminded me of us, when we were little," Harry explained. Ellie and Sirius shared a look, and then they looked at the puzzled looks on Molly and Arthur's faces as Ginny pulled the wrapping back around the gift.

"Hey, aren't you going to show us?" Fred asked and Ginny shook her head.

"You're going to make fun of it, and it's a nice gift. I will show Mummy and Daddy later," Ginny stated, piling other presents on top of the painting. "Harry, Ainsley, will you help me carry these to my room?"

"Sure," Harry replied, getting up and reaching for some packages. Ainsley just nodded her head and grabbed a few more. Quinn was far too busy playing with Ron and the garden gnomes to notice.

Once Ginny had left, her brothers dispersed as well, going off to fly in the paddock, leaving the six adults and two youngest children just outside of the house.

"Can you please tell me what the picture was of?" Molly asked, her voice full of anticipation.

"It's a painting called "The First Kiss". It has two little cherubs in it, one a boy with dark hair and the other a red headed girl. The little boy is kissing the girl on the cheek, it's very sweet, and as soon as Harry saw it, he couldn't take his eyes off it," Ellie explained.

"We had to go to the museum shop and buy a print for Ginny," Sirius added.

"Well," Arthur murmured, "um, that's really something." His wife and their guests started laughing at his response, but their merriment was stopped when a soft ringing sound distracted them. Arthur stood to look in the direction of the sound as Harry, Ainsley and Quinn emerged from the house. The silhouette of the person in the distance gave Ellie and Sirius pause, and then the blood drained from their faces.

They'd been followed here.

Ellie and Sirius immediately stood, Sirius taking out his wand. Remus stood behind him, removing his wand as well. Grace stood, still holding Rachel and grabbing Andy by the hand and moving toward the door to the cottage.

"Quinn, tegann ensea láithereach bonn," Ellie yelled at her youngest daughter. Upon hearing her mother's instruction, said in Gaelic so only the family could understand, the child came running toward her sister and brother, who had come closer to their parents at the announcement sound of the visitor.

Ellie grabbed Harry by the arm, and immediately the young man looked into his Mama's eyes. "Allez á líntérieur, fermez la porte, et faire vos-sorts de sécurité," Ellie instructed him and he nodded at her. "Assrez-vous que la porte, est protégéé. Le sac est a l'interieur." Above all else she had to keep them safe; she did not trust the one that was approaching them. This was the person who had caused her to fight for her children all summer.

Ellie looked into the sky and spoke one final phrase in Gaelic, "Collinda, insím na Banphrionsa." Ellie wanted all of the Princesses on guard and watching. As the children went into the house, Ron and Ginny in tow, Ellie could see the small wrens on her children's arms begin to glow.

Ellie drew three things from her pockets, throwing one to Sirius, placing one in the grass in front of them and then directing one to the equidistant position behind the other two, about six feet away. Lifting her hand, the three stones snapped into position. She then pulled a pouch out from her pocket and placed it in the middle of the triangle. There was a slight hiss as the spell took effect, and then it was silent again.

The commotion had attracted the older boys, who had stopped their game and come to the see what was happening. As Bill approached, he instinctually pulled his wand, and when he saw the stones, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Did you just..."

"Not now," Ellie said with a rapid head shake, "later I'll explain it all."

Molly sent the twins into the house with Grace and the Potter-Black children, while the older three waited outside with the adults. Ellie and Sirius moved to the front of the group, Arthur and Remus flanking them. As the man drew closer, Arthur chose to speak.

"Is there something that you need from me?" He asked politely. "I'd be more than willing to come and meet with you."

"There is nothing that I need from you," the man replied. "I did however wish to speak with your guests."

Ellie said nothing, holding her face hard; she'd danced this dance already several times, she knew that a lack of emotion would serve her well. Sirius however, couldn't hold his tongue.

"Crashing a ten year olds birthday party, that's just...how did you even know that we were here?"

"I have my ways," the man replied, and Sirius huffed at him, while letting a low curse leave his lips.

The man continued stepping closer, finally getting close enough that he was standing just a few feet from Ellie. What she knew, and he didn't, was that he had just stepped inside of her spell triangle.

"State your purpose and then be on your way," Ellie said, still hard and emotionless.

The man went to say something, and found himself unable to say what it was that he had intended to say. Ellie smiled in a sly, knowing way, sneaking a glance at her husband. The spell that she had cast was indeed working.

"Cat got your tongue?" she asked, a slight snigger in her voice.

"What did you do?"

"You haven't figured it out?" She asked, and there was silence in response. "Well, I have not intention of telling you, but you will eventually figure it out. Now, what exactly are you here for, Albus?"

The Headmaster of Hogwarts stared at her, fighting the compulsion to speak, but he was unable to overcome it. "I came to try and change your mind."

A loud, disgusted laugh left Ellie's lips, "Because your going to the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards was so effective. I have told you, and I have been supported in my answer. Harry is not going to Hogwarts!"

"He needs an education," Albus Dumbledore replied.

"He's getting an education," Sirius stated. "One that is far richer and comprehensive than the one that he would get with you."

"Sirius, Hogwarts is the premier school for magical education in Britain. Where are you having him trained? I heard you speaking French to him, are you thinking of enrolling him in Beauxbatons?"

"Just because I speak to our children in French, does not mean that we live in France, or do we have any intention of sending our children to school in France," Ellie said with confidence. "They are also fluent in Spanish, Italian, Latin and Gaelic as well as English. You've been looking for us for eight years, and so far, you've never been able to find us. Care to venture another guess?"

"Ellie, he has important..." Albus started, but Sirius stopped him.

"Believe me, we know what it is that our son has to do. When the time comes, he will be ready?" There was a thickness to Sirius voice, that gave everyone pause. It had been a long summer for them all.

Before anyone had a chance to speak, a squawk came from within the house. Ellie recognized it as the cry of a wren, and within seconds, the ghostly form of Collinda was hovering next to her.

"There were three that have come through the fireplace, their intent was to take the children. We have removed Harry, Ainsley, Quinn, Grace and her children and Ginny. They are safe and under protection. The three have been sent back to where they came from," she explained.

Ellie could no longer hold her emotions, and they ripped across her face like a high tide will wash away the surface of a beach. "Thank you," she said curtly to their princess guide, and then turned to her former teacher and glared at him. "Where were you taking my children."

"Eleanor," he started and then stopped again.

"Don't fight it Albus. I have built a very strong truth spell here. You would think that by now you would remember that I don't need a wand to do powerful magic. One who was planning on confronting me should have made provisions for that," Ellie prodded him, her head shaking in disgust as she did. "Tell me."

"We need him, Ellie, we will be lost without him. He's not even your..." Ellie and Sirius both began to protest.

"How can you say that?"

"Don't finish that statement if you know what's good for you."

"I can't believe...that's what this hell you've put us through has been about!"

They were both silent, as was everyone around them. Ellie collected herself, leaning into her husband for strength, and then she chose to speak. "I may not have borne him, but he is as much my child as either of my daughters. I am the one who has cleaned and healed his wounds, held him as he cried after his nightmares about THAT night. I love him with my whole heart, and I lay awake at night worrying about the future that he will have. If that does not make me his mother, then I don't know what does."

"In case you have forgotten, the Wizengamot has affirmed our adoption of our son. They supported the legal document that gave us control over his care and welfare. A document that you signed and an adoption that you presided over," Ellie continued. "It was a sham of a petition that you brought against us, which is why it was dismissed almost immediately."

Taking a breath, she continued on. "But it wasn't enough for you, was it? How many strings did you have to pull and favors were cashed in for you to get the ICW to have a hearing about the care of our son? It was humiliating to have to bring Harry to them, and have them ask him about his life with us. Thankfully, it was over quickly, when they decided that he was not only in no danger, but that we were good parents; and Harry was a normal, well adjusted and very smart little boy. You did all of that, just to get your hands back on him. Why?"

"He needs to be at Hogwarts. He'll be safer there," the old man stated, and Sirius shook his head.

"I think that we've proven that we've got his safety covered," Harry's Papa told him.

"What about his education? You can't possibly be teaching him everything, even as gifted as you both were."

"You're right, we couldn't. We have Remus and Grace helping us, and beyond that, because of my lineage, I am privy to an educational treasure trove that your couldn't imagine. Trust me when I say, our son is very well educated," Ellie explained.

"Are you assured of the quality of his teachers?"

"More so than if I sent him to Hogwarts," Sirius snapped. "Your History professor is dead, long dead, and unaware of this fact. I also understand that you've hired Severus as your Potions Master. Really, Snape?"

"He's very gifted at Potions," Albus started to defend him.

"I will give you that," Ellie said, "however, he has the social skills of a gnat and he was indicted as a Death Eater. I know that it was you that helped him get those charges dropped, but is it really wise to bring a man who may have been close to Voldemort into the castle?"

"Those choices are my own," Albus stated.

"As is the choice for us to keep our son home and educate him with us. That is still the law here in Britain, is it not?" Sirius asked.

The group stood there in a heavy silence, everyone afraid to move or speak another word, should more revelations be shared. Finally, Ellie reached behind her and lifted the satchel from the ground, and put it back into her pocket. "I believe you'll tell me the truth now, all on your own. Why is it so important that Harry be at Hogwarts?"

"It's just where he has to be, for when..."

"I understand that," Sirius said, more calmly now, "but why does he need to be there now? He's an eleven year old boy."

Albus had no answer. In her heart, as angry as she wanted to be at the man, all that she could feel now was pity. They'd made him obsolete, he wasn't able to stop the Dark Lord, and now, he wasn't going to teach and train the one that could.

"Albus, when the time is right, we will return; but that time is not now. Nothing has aligned, and as far as we all know, HE may not have survived the night at the Rowle farm. Albus, we won't leave our world unprotected, but we won't sacrifice our boy," Ellie explained. "Go away, Albus, please. Just leave us alone."

With nothing else to say, the old man walked away, defeated and broken. Ellie still harbored anger within her, mostly over the situation that lead to the death of her brother; but she had been so beaten down by the events of the summer, she couldn't make her anger come forth.

Molly and Arthur rushed into the house to check on their three boys, and Remus left the wards and apparated to the new house, where he knew that the princesses had taken Grace and all of the children.

Bill went to pick up the stones, while a hushed, but serious conversation was taking place between Charlie and Percy. Sirius held his wife tightly, trying to comfort her.

"Is it ever going to end?" She asked him.

"Someday, Lolly, someday."

They stayed that way until Bill came up and returned the stone to her. "I know that you're probably not thinking straight after all of that, but what was that spell that you did?"

Ellie smiled at the inquisitive young man, and pushed herself off her husbands chest and once again stood upright. "It was a truth telling spell. It doesn't force someone to speak, like Veritaserum, but rather, it just compels them to answer truthfully when they do. Do you recognize the Runes?"

"Two of them," he said honestly. "This is "nydn" for need," he explained as he handed her back the first stone. "This one is "perthro" which is unclear, correct?"

"Meaning unclear, is the more accurate translation for the set that I am using. Now, that one," Ellie said, pointing at the third one, "that's giving you problems?"

"Yes, I've never seen it," Bill responded.

"Not really surprised. This isn't the Anglo-Saxon set, but rather the more ancient Gaelic ones. That symbol there, it's "mannaz" and it stands for humanity. Now, those three runes, in a triangle with perthro at the top work in conjunction with this pouch," Ellie explained pulling the small leather pouch back from the pocket of her skirt. "Inside I've got Cyclamen, Hops and Pine. The whole thing works well together, and most people don't ward their bodies against such magic anymore. It gives me an advantage."

"It's simply...wait you can ward your body?" Bill asked, astounded. "Why do I not know these things? I'm training as a curse breaker, and we get hurt all the time."

"I'll make you a pouch, but you won't be able to open it or figure out what's inside. That's a family secret that I can only share with my daughters."

"Hey, any little bit of help that I can get, I'll take it. It'll make Mum happy as well."

"That it will, and every Mum should be happy," Sirius said, again wrapping his arms around Ellie. She welcomed the gesture, but she wasn't sure that she'd ever really be happy until this was all over. "What I don't understand, is how he knew that we were here? We were all guarded by your family magic."

"I think I found the answer to that question," Charlie said as he dragged his younger brother over to the trio. "Percy, tell them."

Percy looked down at the ground, shamefully, and then looked at Ellie. "I used the family owl to tell him that you were here."

Ellie, Sirius and Bill all looked at him shocked. "Why would you do that?" Ellie stammered out.

"Percy, you git. They are our guests," Bill said with a swat to his younger brother's head.

"Ouch," Percy complained, "I just knew that he was looking for them, and here they were. I didn't think...I mean, he's Dumbledore, he's good, right?"

Ellie and Sirius both looked at the young man, the understanding that came with age showing on their faces.

"Percy," Sirius started, "he's a good man, but he doesn't always do what's good for everyone. He's made our lives very difficult the last few months, and should he have succeeded in taking our son..." he stopped, not wanting to think about the consequences.

"Perc, you need to learn that some things just aren't your business," Charlie told him, and then yanked him by his shirt sleeve and started pulling him toward the house. "Come on, we're telling Mum and Dad."

Planting his feet firmly, Percy turned and looked at the Potter-Black's. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for anything bad to happen."

"We know," Ellie said. "No harm was done." With that, Percy was dragged in to see his parents and Ellie looked at her husband. The same thought passed through both their minds -- how can we handle attacks if they come from within those we trust?


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: See, as I promised, once I got back on the writing horse, I knew that I could fly through this stuff. We've had another jump in time, just so that you're aware. I am really trying to finish this before I have my surgery and the treatments that follow, but it's only two weeks, so it might not happen. I will keep trying however. Thanks to everyone who is reading and writing those beautiful reviews. Mutt**

**Chapter 11:**

**It was all in a Book**

**September 1, 1992**

Ellie and Sirius were at the dinner table, playing a game of Wizard's Chess when they heard their son bound down the stairs. Dinner had been over for about an hour, and the girls were both working on their Herbology lessons in the greenhouse. Harry had completed his homework before supper, so that he would have the evening free. As his last foot hit the floor, his Papa began speaking to him.

"How's Ginny?"

Harry rolled his eyes at the older man, "She's fine. The train ride was really long, but she was able to hang out with Luna and Ron and all was good. She said that Percy takes his whole role as a Perfect way too seriously." Ellie and Sirius started laughing at him.

"Prefect, not Perfect. A Prefect is like a school council member. Ask your Uncle Mus about it, he was one," Sirius said, still chuckling. He chose not to add that his mother had been one as well.

"Well, whatever it is, she said that Percy was being a git about it. Wanted to write home to their Mum because Ginny was eating licorice wands on the train. Git," Harry replied. "Anyway, she said that the castle is huge, and that there was all of this food for dinner that just magically appeared and her bed has this huge canopy and..."

"Harry," Ellie said softly to her son, "if you want to go to Hogwarts, we can take you there right now and you can begin classes with your friends." They had discussed this in the past, and while she was hesitant, she couldn't deny the excitement in the boy's voice.

"It's not that," Harry said as he scrapped a dining chair on the floor and then slouched himself down in it. "I like being taught here, I like that sometimes it's just me and my teacher. But..." he paused.

"Go on, son," Sirius urged him.

"It sounds...wonderful. I want to go someday, but I want my sisters to go with me. Does that make sense?"

"It does, by you do realize that if you wait for Quinney, you'll only go for one year? Are you sure that you want to wait that long?" Ellie asked him, and he nodded his head.

"We've got it pretty good here on the farm. I like Italy, I like that you will let me walk into town and I'm just Harry, the kid who lives on the big farm. I'm not Harry Potter-Black, the Boy Who Lived." He had stated how much he hated the nickname when he was allowed to read the newspaper articles and cards that Uncle Mus had so carefully put away for him when he was a toddler and had just come to live with Mus and Ellie.

"If you ever change your mind, sport, just let us know. We can get you there, and the rest of us can live in the house in Ireland, okay?" Sirius asked and Harry nodded. Ellie and Sirius tried to resume their game, but Harry kept trying to give his Mama pointers about her play, and it was frustrating her. Ellie finally gave up, and let Harry finish the game. Even though he was behind when he started playing, he beat Sirius rapidly.

When Ellie left the table, she went up to the study off of the bedroom that she shared with her husband and started a letter. Since their confrontation at the Burrow the year before, Ellie had softened a bit toward their former headmaster. She wrote him monthly reports on what the children were learning, and had even gone so far to acquire the ICW level exams for Harry to take. He had passed the fourth year exams with no problem, even though he was only twelve.

As much as she hated to admit it, the old man had a right to know how her son and daughters were growing -- they would need to succeed when the time came; and Albus would be the one who would provide them support. She still gave him no hints of where they lived, and Ellie and Sirius had decided that they would not move back to Britain until they absolutely had to.

The letter short, to the point and completely devoid of niceties, was quickly finished and Ellie sealed it with wax and her family crest and then summoned the family owl that lived in the barn. The little tawny owl had recently been purchased, as the very old Scops owl that Ellie had gotten while she was in school had finally died. Quinn was quite pleased with the new owl, as she had often announced that their old owl, Zosimus, frightened her, as it always looked "angry". Her parents had conceded that the tufts of feathers above the eyes did make the owl look like it was glaring. She had made it a project for all of her children to learn the origin of the name, and then explain why it would have been important to a Potions Master. The first Alchemist in history seemed like a good name to Ellie when she was fifteen.

The new little owl was soft and calm, and she had an instant liking to Ainsley. Ainsley announced that the bird had told her that her name was Allegra, and no one in the family would dispute her. Allegra flew into the window and Ellie attached the letter, and told her to fly to Venice. The letter would then be given to an international courier bird to finish the journey.

With her monthly task of writing the Headmaster over, Ellie took out her books and began to again attempt to research what the lack of a discernible future for her youngest daughter might mean. The older that Quinn got, the more it worried her that no future could be read on her. In a few weeks, they would be leaving for Israel, to visit a mystic there, from an ancient family that had been reading futures for over one thousand years. Right now, Ellie was reading about the family and the ways to best ask their questions and to interpret the answers. Sirius quietly slipped into the room, and kissed his wife on her cheek, causing her to jump in surprise.

"I'm sorry, Lolly, I thought that you heard me," he said as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Sorry, I was deep in thought," she told him. "So, was there a rematch and how badly did he beat you?"

"Why do you assume that I lost?"

"Because, Harry bests even Remus, and you've never beaten him," Ellie teased back, easing herself from the chair and taking her husband by the hand. The strode the few feet into their bedroom, and Ellie lead him to the bed and laid down with him, needing his comfort.

"Lol, tell me, what's going on in that brain of yours," he asked her quietly.

"I just want us to stay like it is, right now," she whispered back. "I don't want them to grow up, and face danger. I want my children to..." she stopped as tears had now overtaken her ability to speak. Sirius said nothing, instead just holding his wife and trying to comfort her. These were concerns that we in his heart and mind as well. It was a bit like living life on a boat that you knew was headed for a waterfall, but you couldn't get out or stop it. You would go over the falls, you just didn't know when.

Once her tears had stopped, Ellie pulled herself on top of her husband, straddling his hips and kissing him deeply. Her hands went into his hair and his slipped beneath the soft linen blouse that she was wearing. His hands started to work on the clasp of her bra, and he had it nearly undone, when they heard a voice.

"Mama, Papa, where are you?" The voice belonged to Ainsley, and Ellie and Sirius both groaned in displeasure at being interrupted. They were both feeling the need to find solace and comfort in their lover's arms; but instead they had to go and be parents.

"We're in our room," Ellie answered, rolling off her husband and reaching behind her to refasten her undergarment. "We'll be right down."

"Finish this tonight?" Sirius asked.

"Definitely," Ellie responded, leaning over to kiss him deeply.

* * *

"All of these?" Sirius asked in disbelief, staring down at the pile of parchments on the table before him.

"This is nothing," Amelia commented, "you should have seen the pile when she first reached the age of arrangement. Of course, I still think that Harry will have her beat, he had one hundred, sixty one offers when he was the right age."

The parchments all bore the crests of the most famous Wizarding families from Britain and all over Europe. These were requests to Sirius to arrange a marriage between Ainsley and their son. They had been coming in rather consistently, since she came of age a year and a half ago. Now that she was nearing the end of the period, it would appear that families were getting desperate -- they were offering him a dowry for his daughter, instead of the other way around.

Amelia had taken on the task of gathering each of the children's requests, bringing them with her to Italy when she visited and then sending out the polite, but short, notes of decline. Sirius had charmed a stack of parchment so that they all said the same thing, all he had to do was add the child's name.

"There is absolutely no way that I would..." Ellie said sounded frustrated, pushing her way through the stack. "Some of these families. Like I would marry our daughter off to Draco Malfoy -- is that even legal? I mean, his mother is your first cousin, that makes them, second cousins?" A shutter pass through her at this thought.

"It is," Sirius responded, "my parents were."

"I keep forgetting about that," Ellie said.

"Oh, here, how about marrying her off to Gregory Goyle?" Grace said picking up another page. "That boy...when I was last talking with my mother, she said that she isn't sure he can read. What would he do with a girl like Ainsley? Never mind, strike that, I don't want to think about it," she added, reading down the parchment. "Oh, but Sirius, they're offering 200,000 galleons. That's a lot of money. Sure you don't want to sell your daughter off for a small fortune?'

"No, especially not when I have a large fortune, and she will inherit one of her own," Sirius said grabbing the parchment and crumpling it and sending it to the fireplace to burn. With a flourish of his wand, the pile of rejection letters began filling in the names and folding themselves. With another flourish, a candle would drop wax onto the seal, and then the Black family crest magically appeared.

"Well, that was...will our people never learn? This is such a..." Ellie stopped, holding a parchment in her hands. "I don't believe it. If she was in trouble..."

"El, what is it?" Amelia queried.

"Is everything okay with Augusta Longbottom?"

"I think so, why do you ask?"

"She's offered us Neville as a match for Ainsley, and if we agree, she is asking for the full dowry paid in advance. I mean, he's a nice little boy and of all the ones on the table, he's the only one I would consider if we were going to do such a thing, but, Augusta has to know that we wouldn't ever arrange a betrothal for Ainsley."

"I only see her when the Wizengamot is in session, but maybe I'll invite her over for tea, give her a chance to talk in private. How does that sound?" Amelia asked and Ellie nodded.

"Thank you, dear," she replied and then watched as Sirius levitated the entire pile over to the fire and burned them. "Well, if all messes were that easy to clean up."

"Definitely," Amelia agreed. "Where is Harry? I haven't seen him since I got here before dinner."

"Ah, well, he's not around much after supper these days," Sirius said with a grin on his face. "He's got other things on his mind."

"Be nice," Ellie told him with a warning look. "He's upstairs on his mirror with Ginny. He's been helping her with her homework every night after dinner for the last month. I get the feeling that she isn't having as much fun at school as she had hoped she would."

"Oh, poor kid," Amelia replied, with the rest of the adults nodding at her. "It's always hard until you've got some friends."

"That wasn't an issue in my life," Sirius piped in. "I went to school with my best friend and my best girl." As he spoke, he brushed the hair away from Ellie's face and put it behind her ear. Unseen by their guests, she spun her wedding ring around on her finger, invoking their private form of communication to let the other know that they were looking forward to being alone.

"You two are still too cute," Grace complained. "I mean really, who is together for half of their lives and still acts that sweet with each other?" She wasn't upset at the concept, but instead, a wee bit jealous of the affection between the two.

"Yes, well, there were years in there where it wasn't so sweet," Ellie said quietly. They all sat there in the thick mood that had floated into the room for a moment, until Grace decided to break the silence.

"So, tell me, whose dating who? What's the hot gossip at the Ministry?"

Amelia chuckled and then answered, "There isn't any, at least not that comes through MLE. My biggest issue is dealing with our Minister. Honestly, I know that he's a kind man, but Cornelius Fudge is well...a bit thick."

"You've been saying that for years," Remus commented, "anything new?"

"Not really, he's just...he's actually campaigning for a second term. No one has ever been asked to have a second term as Minister. It's a ten year post, who'd want it. He's just so much more political than anything else."

"Another good reason to stay in Italy. Their Ministry leaves us alone here," Sirius commented.

"That's just because you make large donations to them to ensure our privacy," Remus sniggered back at his friend.

"Well, it works," Sirius spared back. Before their little match could go on any longer, there was a rumble of shoes on the stairs downstairs, and a very agitated Harry was presently with them.

"Nice of you to come and say hello to Miss Amelia," Sirius started to chide his son, but the look on Harry's face let him know that this wasn't the time for laughter. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Harry are you sick?" Ellie asked her son, standing and going to him. He shook his head at her. "Is it one of your sisters?" He again shook his head. "Harry, please tell me what's wrong," she begged him.

"Mama, if someone told you a secret, and you promised not to tell, but you were afraid that someone would get hurt if you didn't, would you tell?" Harry asked her, his eyes filled with seriousness.

"I think that I would always choose to help someone who told me a secret, even if that meant that I would break my promise," Ellie replied. While they had been speaking, Sirius had gotten up and come over to his son, kneeling down next to him, and rubbing his hand along his back.

"Harry, son, sometimes we have to do what's best in life, even if that's going to make someone upset. Now please, tell us what has you so worried," he asked his son.

"Who is it, Harry? Whose secret are you keeping?" Ellie pleaded with her son. "Is it Ginny? Did something happen at school?" There was a still, uncomfortable quiet in the room until in a very small voice, Harry answered her.

"Uh-huh."

"Harry, we all care about Ginny here. If it has you this worried, can you please tell me what she told you?" Ellie said quietly.

"Uh-huh," he started, and then he sat down on Sirius bent knee, looking frightened well beyond his years. "Ginny was given a book, she doesn't know who gave it to her, but it's like a diary."

"Okay, was it a present from one of her brothers?" Sirius asked him.

"No, Papa. It just was in her school stuff. She didn't know where it came from. She was really sad at school, because Luna wasn't in the same house as she was, and Luna is her only friend," Harry explained.

"Okay, go on," Ellie urged him. "What about this diary."

"Well, she started writing in it, and she told me it does something strange when she does." The adults were all looking at him, nodding along and giving him encouraging looks, so Harry took a deep breath and said a little prayer that Ginny would forgive him for betraying her secret. "The diary writes her back."

Confusion overtook the faces of the adults, and they all looked at him, trying to figure out what it was that he was trying to say.

"Harry, what do you mean that the book writes her back?" Ellie finally asked.

"I mean, she writes something, like a question, and the book answers her. I told her that it wasn't right, but she said that she liked talking to him and that he was kind to her when no one else was." Now that the damn was broken Harry couldn't talk fast enough. "Ginny tells him things and he tells her things back. But, it wasn't nice anymore. I don't like what he's telling her now. I think that she might get hurt."

"Wait, wait Harry, back up here. This diary has a person inside of it, that can answer her questions?" Sirius asked, his background from charms and magical reversal caused alarms at what spell would have needed to be cast to make such a thing happen.

"Yes, and for a while they just had nice conversations. Ginny told her about her family and her brothers, and he gave her advice about making friends. She even told him that we were best friends," he told her, and when he saw the renewed concern in his father's face, he quickly added, "but he didn't tell her where we were or anything like that. Just that we're best friends."

"But tonight, he told her, he wanted her...he told her to leave the dorms on her own and go somewhere."

"Where, Harry? Where did he want her to go?" Remus asked, closing his eyes to remember all of the passages in the castle that they had found while they were there.

"I don't know, she didn't tell me, but," he paused.

"Harry, it's okay," Ellie promised him, using as calm and soothing of a voice as she could, but her insides were racing. This wasn't right, there was no way that this was anything but a danger and threat to Ginny's welfare. "But, what Harry?"

"This happened once before, and she went out at night, but then..." he paused and looked around the room at everyone. "When she woke up, she didn't know where she had been or what had happened."

Ellie and Sirius exchanged a look, and then they looked at their friends. This wasn't just a charmed article, it sounded like she had been Imperioused or possessed. Amelia immediately stood from her chair, and walked away from the group, and withdrew a small mirror from her pocket and tapped on it, calling for Minerva McGonagall. Ellie and Sirius could hear her explaining that we would all be coming to school, and that she needed to go and find Ginny Weasley and bring her, along with her belongings to the Headmaster's office. The rest would be explained when she arrived.

Ellie looked at the stairs. The girls were upstairs with Andy and Rachel, she didn't want to worry them, but this wasn't a trip that they should be taking with their parents. She glanced over at Grace and Remus.

"You don't even have to ask. Be safe," Grace told her, knowing that Ellie was worried about her daughters.

"Love, will you go upstairs and tell them that we're leaving for a while, but that Aunt Grace and Uncle Mus are here?"

"Of course, Lolly. I'll grab your kit while I'm up there," Sirius told her. The kit was a traveling bag that Ellie had prepared, containing her personal spell book, smaller than the family one; some of her most potent spell bags, her runic stones and basic potion making items. He took the stairs two at a time, and then Ellie turned and called into the air.

"Collinda." Within a moment, the ghostly princess was in front of her. "We need to leave the house for a while, can you please make sure that there is watch here, as well as with Harry, Sirius and I?"

"Of course, sister. May I ask where you are going?"

"We are headed to Scotland. There is an issue with Harry's friend, Ginny. She may be in grave danger."

"If it would please you, I shall accompany you to ensure Harry's safety. I can also transport you directly there."

"That would beneficial, but could you please make yourself more corporeal, our friend Amelia cannot see you, and I am quite sure that she must think I've gone barmy, speaking to the thin air this way."

"Certainly," she answered, and the gasp behind Ellie let her know that Amelia must be able to see their ghostly companion.

"Don't ask," Ellie turned and told Amelia. "I'll explain later." A tug on the leg of her slacks alerted her to Harry's presence, now sitting in one of the dining chairs.

"You're letting me come?" he asked. Ellie kneeled down next to her son and nodded.

"Of course, you behaved like a brave young man tonight, and I should think that since it was you that Ginny trusted, it will be good for you to be there with her," Ellie explained and Harry threw his arms around his Mama's neck.

"Thank you, Mama. I love you."

"I love you too, my child. I love you too."

Sirius returned and Collinda got them to the gates of Hogwarts instantly. Amelia was the only one surprised by the sensations of the mode of travel.

"That was, wow...make apparating look like a slow broom to China," Amelia said and the others laughed at her. A lone figure in sweeping gowns was headed down the walk toward them, and Ellie took Harry by the hand, while Sirius kept his hand on the boy's back.

"Amelia, what in the world, Ellie, Sirius, Harry, what are you doing here?" Minerva asked, the surprise in her voice getting greater as she saw each of them. And then she saw Collinda, "You're traveling with your own ghost now?"

"Long story, I'll explain later," Ellie said dismissing her. "Did you find Ginny?"

"We haven't found her yet," the deputy headmistress said as they started the long walk up to the castle. "The staff are looking for her right now. The Head Girl went and got her things and brought them to Albus' office. Would you please tell me what's going on?"

"Long story short, Minerva, Harry and Ginny were talking on their mirrors tonight, and she told Harry that she has a diary that answers her questions, and then asked her to do something tonight. We don't know what it was, but we feel that she is in great danger," Amelia explained.

"Please, Ginny's a good girl," Harry pleaded for her. Minerva stopped in her tracks and looked down at Harry.

"I know that she is, Harry. Ginny is very fortunate to have a brave friend like you," she told him, and then quickly turned on her heels and began her brisk steps to the castle, the rest of them in tow.

The party moved quickly through the castle, and Ellie turned around at one point and realized that she couldn't see Collinda with them anymore. She was hoping that the princess was going to the Founder's room to get some advice. When they reached the top of the stairs for the Headmaster's office, it was an awkward moment for them all. Albus Dumbledore was looking at Harry, seeing as this was the closest that he had been to him in over nine years. Harry looked at the man with a puzzled look on his face, not sure who he was. Ellie and Sirius both watched the way that the old man was staring at their son, and it gave Ellie chills. Both Amelia and Minerva were feeling uneasy at how this reunion might go.

The discomfort was finally eased when Ellie pulled Harry over to a settee on the far side of the room and sat down with her arm around her son.

"Are her things here?" Sirius asked, and the Headmaster nodded.

"Could someone tell me what's going on here? Ginny Weasley has a diary that speaks to her? Are you sure that it just isn't something that she picked up at Zonko's?" The Headmaster asked.

"It's not a toy, sir," Harry said in defense of his friend. "I don't like what it tells Ginny. He keeps telling her that she isn't pretty, and that no one likes her. That isn't true. Ginny is the most beautiful girl in the world and I like her, and so do my sisters!"

"It's okay, Harry. Professor Dumbledore is just asking questions, okay?" Sirius explained, coming to sit on the arm of the settee on the other side of his son. Harry felt empowered with his parents on either side of him, and started to speak more clearly.

"Sir, this diary, it told Ginny to go off by herself tonight, somewhere in the castle that she wasn't even sure where it was. Ginny wouldn't do something like that without something bad happening to her. I am sure of it," Harry told him.

"Alright, son, let's see what happens when Miss Weasley gets here," Albus told the child. "Have you gotten in touch with her parents?" He asked Ellie and she shook her head.

"There was no reason to alert Molly without cause. I also believed that it was your place, she is in your care after all." Ellie had meant for the statement to come out as a recognition of his place in the matter, but it came out sounding more accusatory than anything. Her tone wasn't missed on anyone in the room.

Minerva moved closer to the Headmaster, and began talking in very hushed tones. Harry looked around the room with wonder. There were portraits on the walls that moved and spoke, and instruments and things on tables that seemed to be in motion and best of all, there was a great red and gold phoenix that was singing a beautiful tune. He was only distracted from looking at it when he felt his Papa touch his shoulder.

"See that man up there, the one in the painting with all the stars behind him?" Sirius asked Harry and he nodded in response.

"That's my great-great-grandfather up there," Sirius said blandly. "Headmaster Black." Upon hearing his name, the portrait turned to look at the family on the settee. Realization of which one of the family tree had just claimed him came to the picture, and the man quickly made a disgusted noise and left the picture. "That was the nicest that he's ever treated me." Harry, Sirius and Ellie shared a good laugh at it, until there were footsteps on the stairs, big, heavy ones that scared Harry.

"Professor, Professor," a loud booming voice said, "I got her." The man that entered the room surprised and scared Harry -- he'd never seen anyone so large. This giant man was cradling Ginny in his arms, and she looked like a rag doll there.

When he put Ginny down, she immediately ran to Harry, who stood and hugged her. The sight of her surprised Ellie and Sirius, who had entertained Ginny at their home for two weeks in August. In the eight weeks since they had seen her, she had lost weight and her eyes had dark circles under them. They exchanged a worried look and then Ellie looked at Albus and said, "I think we need to contact her parents."

Ellie got up from the settee, and urged Harry to sit her down with him. Ellie knelt in front of the pair, along with Minerva.

"Ginny, can you tell me what happened?" The older woman asked.

"I left my dorm and I just started walking...and then I was with Hagrid. I don't even know where I was," she said through her tears.

"Found her on the second floor, roaming around. She looked like she was in a trance or sleepwalking or something," Hagrid said. Albus nodded and wrote a note to himself on the blotter on his desk.

"Ginny, sweetheart, can you look at me," Ellie asked her and Ginny raised her face. "Honey, no one is angry with you, but we really need to see that diary. We've got your trunk here, can you tell me where it is?" Ginny nodded at her.

"It's under my mirror, which is folded up in Harry's gray sweater," she explained. Sirius rose to get the book and Ellie commented in her head that at least she now knew where the sweater had gone. She'd sworn that it had been stolen by fairies. Sirius gently went through her trunk and pulled out a worn book with empty pages. He handed it to Ellie, who felt a prickle go up her arm and tickle the protection pouch that she wore under her clothes. The feeling unsettled her and made her even more cautious about the item. She reached over and grabbed her kit and took out another pouch and handed it to Ginny. Harry helped her slip it over her head. She also pulled out the items for her truth telling spell, unsure if she would need them, but glad that she had them on hand.

"Ginny, Professor Dumbledore and I need to know exactly how you got this, and what it says to you, okay?" Ellie asked and Ginny nodded.

She started to recount her tale, explaining that it had just shown up in her cauldron when her family took her shopping before school started. Thinking that it was a diary that one of her brothers gave her, she started writing in it the first day at school. She was surprised when it started writing her back.

Ginny went on to tell that she would come back from her classes and tell the diary what she was doing, admitting that it felt like she had a friend to share these things with. Harry squeezed her a little more as she said this, knowing that he had been far away, rather than being here with her.

The story went on, and Ginny explained that the questions that the diary would ask were getting stranger and made her feel more uncomfortable. She was afraid that her friend was bored with her, until she mentioned Harry one day. That made the boy in the diary very excited.

She told everyone about the first time that he had her go out at night, and how she woke up not knowing what had happened. The Headmaster asked her if she knew what night it was, and when Ginny told them, the staff members went ashen.

"That's the night those roosters went missing," Hagrid said and Ginny looked horrified.

"I didn't have anything to do with that, I swear," she pleaded.

"We know you didn't dear, we know," Minerva tried to calm her.

"Is there anything else that you can remember?" Ellie asked, and Ginny shook her head. "Did he ever tell you a name, or something that you should call him?" Again, she her head shook. "Okay, good girl," she told the young witch as she held her hand.

"Why don't we go down to see Madame Pomfrey, hum," Minerva asked the girl. "Harry can come with you." Sirius went to protest, not wanting his son out of his sight inside the castle, but Amelia piped up.

"I'll go with them," she said and Sirius nodded. Professor McGonagall with Harry's help, lead Ginny out, followed by Amelia and Hagrid. When they left, the diary was moved to the headmaster's desk, and all three adults stared at it.

"Albus, I have never heard of a book that was sentient," Sirius said honestly.

"Sirius, I haven't either," he confessed, which made the couple worried. "Ellie, I know that you've studied the old magics. Have you ever encountered such a thing?"

"No, not really," she answered. "There was a legend that as the city of Alexandria was burning, the Librarian performed a spell on himself, trapping his essence and the knowledge of the Library in one book that was carried out by his aide, so that all that was contained in the books of the Library wasn't lost, but it's just a myth. No one has ever seen such a book. Albus, when I picked the diary up, I felt something move through me. My protection pouch did its job, but, there's something in this book."

They all continued to look at it, finally it was Albus who spoke. "I think that we need to communicate with it. I don't mean to sound improper here, but, since it was conversing with a young woman, I think that perhaps, you, Ellie, should be the one who tries."

Ellie nodded in understanding, hoping that he was wrong because she didn't want to contemplate what that could mean for poor Ginny. For safety, Ellie pulled a cleansing pouch out of her kit and wiped down her hands and the desk. She then did the same with the quill that she would be writing with. Residual magical traces could make it hard for her to get an accurate read on what she was dealing with.

After taking a deep breath, and feeling Sirius lay a hand on her back, she opened the book and quill and wrote one word.

_Hello._

She watched as the ink disappeared into the book, and then watched as new words materialized, no longer in the black ink of the well on the Headmaster's desk. These words were written in red.

_Ginny, you're back so soon. Is everything okay?_

Ellie looked at the words, and then began to write back.

_This isn't Ginny. This is her friend, Ellie._

The ink faded, and then new words rose.

_It's nice to meet you Ellie. Any friend of Ginny's is a friend of mine. What's your last name Ellie? I want to be able to greet you properly._

Those words faded, and Ellie contemplated what to write. Having a stroke of inspiration, put quill to parchment.

_Ellie Potter._

Sirius began to protest, but the words that rose from the page made him stop.

_Are you related to Harry Potter?_

It was a chilling question, and it went to the heart of the fear that was growing in Ellie's heart. She knew that it somehow came back to her son, she had just felt it when she was listening to Ginny's story. Now, somehow, this paper was making her fears come true. Without asking for advice on what to write, Ellie penned her response.

_I'm his mother._

The page was blank for a moment, and then the next sentence made all of their hearts stop.

_I thought that you were dead._

There was no mistaking the words, this was someone who knew at the very least the story of Harry, and at worst, the child himself. The trio stared at the words until they had faded.

"Ellie, ask his name," Albus commanded, and Ellie penned the question. The floor fell away and the world started getting black at the name that appeared there.

"_My name is Tom Riddle."_

Ellie was slipping away from consciousness. As she slipped into the darkness she could hear her husband and the headmaster talking.

"I take it you know who that is?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yeah, we know who that is," Sirius answered.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Hey everyone, this will be the last update on this story for a while, I'm guessing a month, but it could be even longer than that. I promise that I will finish it, I have it all mapped out, I just need to write it. Thanks to everyone for your constant support and your well wishes. I am looking forward to being cancer free as well. Mutt**

**Chapter 12:**

**Search and Destroy**

**October 1992**

Sirius caught his wife before she fell off of her chair, and gently laid her down on the floor. By the time he had her there, her eyes were fluttering open. The world was a blur and it sounded as if he was speaking to her underwater, and then she remembered what she had just witnessed in the diary, and the world snapped back into place around her.

She forced her way up, Sirius begging her to continue to lie down, and wanting to call for the school nurse, but Ellie would have no part of it. There was a serious threat to her child, nearby, she was not going to take a lie in.

Ellie looked up at Dumbledore, her usually bright and welcoming eyes were now dark with anger and fear. "Tell me what you know, what you think you know, and what the heck we are going to do about it!"

"Eleanor," Dumbledore started, "I promise you that never in my life have I come across something like this." His face got a rather distant aura to it as he continued to speak. "There was a time when I saw the dark arts...but never this close..."

"Sir, there are few people who may call me Eleanor, you are not one of them," Ellie told him as she stood, Sirius never taking his hands away from her for fear that she might pass out again. "If you don't have any answers, I am going to go and speak with some people who might."

With that she grabbed the diary from the desk and her kit from the floor and began to walk out, Sirius hot on her heels.

"Where are you going?" Dumbledore asked, still looking forlorn at whatever was passing through his head a moment ago.

"If you can't help me, there are those in the castle that can." She continued to walk toward the door.

"Who are you going to?" The Headmaster demanded. He really didn't want this situation being discussed outside of this office.

"I'm going to the Founders, I believe that they will know something," Ellie told him, and Dumbledore looked even more confused.

"What? How are you going to the Founders?"

"The Founders Room. It exists, I've been there several times. A benefit of my lineage is that the location and how to get in has been passed from generation to generation. Please remember, it was my ancestor who taught here with them. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get some information to keep my son safe."

With that, Ellie and Sirius were gone, and Albus Dumbledore slumped down in his chair, looking up at the portrait of Godric Gryffindor. "What other secrets did you keep from me?" The portrait gave slight tilt of his head, conveying that Albus would not be finding that out today, either.

* * *

It was quite late at night when the family finally returned home to Italy. Amelia had returned with them, and Devon would be arriving tomorrow. Ginny had also returned with the Potter-Black's, she would be staying here indefinitely, for her safety and for that of the family.

The discussion about Ginny's safety had been heated, Dumbledore not wanting her removed from Hogwarts; her parents fearing for her safety and not wanting to leave her there -- but also not wanting her to be so far away -- as she would be in Italy. Ellie and Sirius terrified that an eleven year old girl had been targeted because she was their son's dearest friend.

In the end, it was the calm and reasonable voices of Amelia and Devon that had prevailed. Ginny was safer with the Potter-Black's. If she were to be taken by those that had slipped her the diary, she would be tortured or killed until she told them where Harry's parents were hiding him. Security was going to be improved at the Burrow, as well as at Hogwarts to protect the rest of the children, and Bill and Charlie would be notified and their workplaces and homes defenses would be strengthened. The Weasley Family was now in danger, just because they knew and loved Harry.

Grace was sitting on the sofa in the lounge when everyone arrived back, Ellie just looked at her and shook her head. She wasn't prepared to talk about it yet. There would be a meeting of the adults in the morning to discuss what they were going to do, right now, Ellie was just feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what could possibly happen next.

Sirius had transfigured a chair into a cot in Harry's room, and he went to sleep on it, while Ginny slept in his bed. Tomorrow, they would move Ginny into Ainsley's room, but for tonight, the two friends would be allowed to share a room. They fell asleep holding hands, but even the sweetness of the gesture couldn't lift the malaise that was weighing in on Ellie. Sirius was genuinely worried about her state.

Ellie had scattered her clothes around the room, quite literally just stepping out of them as she walked to the bed, removing all but her knickers. Reaching the bed and lying herself down, she stretched across and pulled the tee shirt that Sirius had been wearing under his jumper off of the floor on his side of the bed, and slid it over her, and then curled herself up on the mattress. Sirius had to lift her up to pull the blankets down, before pulling them up over her, and tucking her in.

Her knees were pulled in close to her chest and her arms crossed one over the other as she laid on her side. She wasn't crying, or angry, or well, anything. Ellie appeared to be broken. Sirius had never seen her like this, and he believed that he'd seen her at the worst moments of her life. She wept the night that they were told how his arranged marriage would have to go on as planned. She railed against God the night that her father died, yelling and screaming to heaven. She was angry and almost vicious with her words when he saw her after James and Lily had been killed, her anguish seeping from her. She had been heartbroken and weak when she miscarried their son -- but he had always seem emotion in her. Now, there was nothing, just a small ball of his wife, devoid of even her calming spirit.

After outing the light, Sirius laid down next to her, molding his body to match hers, his legs tucked in behind her, one arm curving over her hips to hold her hands, the other curled around the top of her head, gently stroking the fringe on her forehead. Neither said anything, they just laid there in the near pitch black on the night. There was no moon tonight, and a thin cover of clouds had blocked out the stars. It was as if the heavens, too, were unable to give them guidance this night.

Sirius thought back to the frantic conversations that they had had in the Founders Room. Ellie was surprised to find Queen Maeve in the room, along with Collinda and Gormlaith, the Princess who was working with her children on their Defense and Combat lessons. There were no pleasant introductions, or questions of how the children were -- everyone just got to work.

The Founders were horrified by the diary, especially Salazar. He couldn't believe that a student had done this, and when they were able to force the diary to tell them its tale, the wretchedness of Tom Riddle was made clear. He wanted to again open the Chamber that Salazar had built, unleashing the basilisk to murder more students, as he had done decades before. Salazar cursed his own arrogance at making the chamber in the first place, regardless of what his intention had been. He would assure that such a thing could never happen again.

Collinda and Salazar went together to kill the creature that lurked below the castle. They slipped by students unnoticed and entered the chamber, ending the basilisk's life, and then strengthening the defenses on the opening, so that no student could ever accidentally enter again. Only those of the spirit realm would be able to find the cold and damp tomb.

Using the magic of the diary, Rowena scryed to find out where the other part of Tom's soul now was. Horror struck the assembled as they found not one other part, but six more. To make matters worse, it appeared that three of them were inside the Hogwarts castle at the moment they were looking for them.

They couldn't get a fix on exactly what they were, or their precise location. It was surmised that because of the spells on the Hogwarts castle, and any repelling spells that the items themselves carried, finding an exact spot was hard. Further spells would be done, hoping to narrow down their locations, and pinpoint what would be needed to destroy them. To do that, however, they needed to know how such a thing was made. While the Founders had no answers, Queen Maeve believed that she did, and with a gentle nod of her head, urged Princess Gormlaith to come forth.

Gormlaith explained what she believed the diary to be. When she was alive, she had come across such an item while battling the invading Hun army. The commander had hidden a bit of his soul in an amulet that his wife wore. Should he be killed in battle, she could do a spell and free the part of his soul that she wore. They were both killed, however, and the amulet needed to be destroyed. It took three powerful witches and Queen Maeve's banishing spell to destroy the item.

Gormlaith believed that the idea had come to the couple, by adapting the same heart tying spell that Ellie and Sirius had done with each other when they were young. Instead of letting your beloved always feel that they were carried in your heart, this one quite literally made is so that you carried part of your beloved by your heart.

She also explained that through her research, she learned there was only one way that such an item could be created: by committing the act of murder, as it was the only known way to rip a soul apart. They were called a Horcrux, and the magic was so dangerous that it was never written down. The announcement by Gormlaith made Ellie violently sick. She was sick again when the conversation turned to how Harry was going to beat an opponent who had made himself immortal.

Sirius wasn't surprised when Ellie just shut down then, and he begged that they be able to leave and gather themselves before any further discussions were made. The Founders and Maeve asked for a week to research how to destroy the diary, as well as try to find the rest of these soul bits.

Now as he lay wrapped around his wife, Sirius couldn't even begin to imagine how they were going to do this. A difficult task -- Harry's destruction of Voldemort -- had just turned into an impossible one.

* * *

Eight nights later, Ellie and Sirius laid again together in their bed, once again wrapped around each other, her back to his chest, his arms encircling her. She was tracing her finger up and down his arm, watching the goose-bumps rise and fall. There was a sheen of light sweat upon them, and their breathing and heart rates were again regulating. As their naked bodies were coming down from the high of their intimacy, they whispered to one another words of love and assurance.

"I love you so much, I always have, I always will," Ellie told him, her voice breathy and far away.

"I know," Sirius answered, pressing his lips to the exposed skin of her neck. "You are my heart and my breath. I live only because of your love."

There were more soft words, more gentle caresses, and moments of luscious silence, where they could listen to how their breathing had synched with the others. Finally, Sirius broached the subject that they had been avoiding since dinner.

"I wish that you would let me come with you," Sirius stated, again. Ellie was tired of hearing the request.

"You can't," she stated plainly. "One of us needs to be here to care and protect the children."

"Remus and Grace are here," he tried to reason with her, but Ellie shook her head against him.

"Can we really ask that of them? As them to take care of all of our children, should something happen to us? Ask them to put themselves and their children in greater mortal danger than they are already in? We can't Sirius, it's too much. One of us needs to be here, and it needs to be you."

"Ellie, I can't...it's going to be so dangerous, and if...if I lost you..." words were failing Sirius now, so he simply reached up and ran his hand over the mark on Ellie's chest. His mark, the mark of their love that she alone wore.

"Sirius, please," she begged, before she started to cry again.

"Why does it have to be you? Why can't we just let someone else do this? Dumbledore acts like he wants to go. Let him!" Anger was now seeping into Sirius voice, and it upset Ellie. She abruptly sat up and faced him, completely disregarding the fact that she was now fully exposed, with her breasts only inches from his face. Normally, this would have excited Sirius, tonight, he could only see the determination in her eyes.

"Sirius, don't you understand? Even after all of this time, with everything that we know? It has to be me that goes, it is my destiny. I've done part of what I needed to do, I gave birth to Ainsley, and with her brother, they will restore peace to the Wizarding world. I need to do the rest, I need to make sure that they have the chance. I. Have. To. Do. This."

"Why, damn it? Why does it have to be you? Haven't you given enough? Hasn't this family suffered enough? Why does the universe want more from you? Why do I have to risk loosing you, like I lost my friend and brother?" Sirius sat up, facing her as he spoke, his eyes wild with despair.

"You think you're the only one who still hurts for him? There are days that I look at Harry and it's like I'm looking at the boy I grew up with. I have to push the pain and the tears down, so that I don't make Harry feel badly about how similar he looks to Jamie. Don't you get it?" Ellie said through her sobs, "I failed him, I can't fail his son."

There was a stunned silence between them. Even after all of these years, and after everything else, the guilt of her role in her brother's death still weighed Ellie down. She was as surprised to hear the words come out of her mouth as Sirius was. Ellie had gotten so good at pretending, she had even convinced herself that she was over it. Her words had just proven that in the depths of her heart she wasn't.

"So that's it?" Sirius asked her. "You think that you can right that wrong by going on this suicide mission? I don't even think that you were wrong in the first place, Ellie. You didn't betray James and Lily."

"But I didn't help them either," Ellie sobbed. "At least if I had been the secret keeper, if they came after me, I could have killed myself and not betrayed their secret. I could have carried a lethal potion with me at all times, and protected them with my life. Don't you see that? Jamie and Lily could still be here."

Sirius sat still, just looking at her. Ellie was unsure what to do, so she sat there and sobbed, her whole body shaking from her tears until she heard him whisper. "What about me? What do you think would have happened to me?" He looked terrified and broken to her, and the depth of the pain that she had just caused him ripped through her.

"I didn't, it isn't what I meant..." she stammered out, but the words were already out there. They were suspended in air, filling the room like the thickness on a humid day. "I don't..."

"Ellie, you...if you'd died, if you die, I won't be able to go on," Sirius confessed, his eyes wet with tears.

"Sirius, I promise, I will never leave you. Even if my body doesn't come back to you, I will always be here. I do not regret the life that we have, or the children that we have made, please don't think that's what I meant. I love you, and them, with every breath and every beat. I will always be with you."

Her words were enough to reassure him, and he pulled her to him, holding her so tightly, it was if he wanted to squeeze them into one. He knew that he had to let her go, he knew in his head that she was indeed the one who had to go and find these things and destroy them. His heart, however, was terrified that she would not come back to him.

He laid them back down, their legs entwined, their faces nearly touching in the pale glow of the waning moon. Ellie continue to assure him that she would always be with him, that she would always love him, and that she would protect him and their children with all that she had. They finally drifted off into an exhausted and spent sleep, dreading the crow of the rooster, letting them know that morning had arrived.

* * *

The fall seemed to drag on for Sirius and the children. He tried to keep things as normal for them as possible, maintaining their daily routine, but the absence of Ellie in all of their lives was palpable. She had returned home to celebrate Samhain, but she was only there for the evening, and by the time that the children awoke the next day, she had already left again.

The woman who had visited seemed nothing like his wife, and it frightened Sirius. While happy to see the children, and passionate in her greeting of him, Ellie's eyes were cold and distant. She refused to say much about how things were going, except that they had located another two of the items, and with the diary, all three were now destroyed.

November turned to December, and both Yule and Christmas were rapidly approaching. Grace had helped Sirius with picking out gifts for the children, including Ginny, who decided that she wanted to stay, indefinitely.

"What if she doesn't get back in time?" Sirius asked Remus as they walked along the property line. Sirius needed to confide in someone, and his lone childhood friend was also now his confidant.

"She will, Sirius. She wouldn't miss the holy day with the kids; and there is no way that she will miss Christmas. Ellie loves Christmas too much. Just relax, I know it's hard, I worry about her too," Remus reassured him and Sirius nodded.

"I just...what if she comes back different?"

"Sirius, this is Ellie that we're talking about. I know she was off when we saw her last, but, let her have a chance to get this behind her. They're half way there, already. Just a little while longer."

Sirius responded with a non-committal shrug, and continued to walk in silence with his friend. As they rounded the bend and started back down the dirt road that split the property, Sirius could see the children taking care of their chores. Quinn was trying to get the hens off their nests so that she could collect the eggs. Ainsley was milking the cow, and Harry and Ginny were brushing and bridling the horses for their afternoon ride. It was an average day in the life of the family on the farm.

Sirius stopped in the barn to talk with Harry and Ginny before their ride, while Remus went inside to check on Grace. A moment later, he heard Grace's scream, and then Remus calling his name. He ran toward the house, checking on Ainsley and Quinn as he went. Confirming that his children were fine, he was then worried about Andy and Rachel, but they were both playing in the play yard. He went into the house through the back door, not caring to tap the dirt off of his boots, and tracking it in as he went. The sight inside the door made stop and curse.

Ellie was lying on the couch, shaking uncontrollably and muttering something. Her eyes were unfocused and she was almost gray in color.

"What the hell happened?" Sirius yelled at Collinda, who was hovering over her. Maggie was with her, as was Ráichéal, the princess teaching our children about healing. Sirius ran to her side, kneeling down near her face.

"Sirius, she was poisoned, but we've given her the antidote and she will be fine," Collinda tried to reassure him, but it wasn't easy.

"Poisoned? How did that happen?"

"Sirius, please," Maggie took her son in laws hand. "Eleanor is going to be fine."

"I'm sorry, please Jamie, don't be mad," Ellie cried out, her face pained. Maggie turned her attention back to her daughter.

"Jamie isn't upset at you sweetheart, just relax. Jamie loves you, I love you, Sirius loves you," Maggie tried to soothe her daughter.

"I'm going to take the kids over to our house, have them help me make some cookies or something, they don't need to see this," Grace said, and she went out the back door.

Ellie began to settle down, but still whimpering.

"Can someone tell me what happened?" Sirius asked.

"We found a cave, where we thought that there was a horcrux, the magic in the place seemed right..." Collinda started, but her last statement seemed to be more to herself. "Anyway, there was a poison that had to be drunk, and Ellie had to do it; seeing as she was the only living person there."

"There was a hallucinogen as part of the poison, that's why she's seeing things. Maggie has been most helpful with this, keeping her calm," Ráichéal explained.

"The problem is, that when we got her back here, I went to destroy the item, but there isn't any soul bit in it. This," Collinda said, dropping the heavy locket on the table," is a fake. I don't understand how the scry went wrong, but it did. The cave was full of the right magic, and..." she stopped, her frustration evident.

Sirius looked at the locket and then picked it up. The locking mechanism had opened an he saw a small bit of paper inside. Reading the note, it was Sirius turn to become pale.

"Moony, look at this," he asked, handing the slip of paper to his friend. Remus read it.

"You don't think?"

"I do. If he had it, that means it could be in the house."

"It would explain why they didn't see it, and only the fake."

"We have to go there and look."

"Do one of you want to tell me what you're talking about?" Collinda asked.

"The note, it's from RAB, those are the same initials that my brother had. He was a follower of Voldemort, and just before my mother died, she said that Reg had come home, once, and was trying to hide from Voldemort. Mother did the best that she could, but any member of the Black family can get into the house. My cousin gave him up, dragged him back to the fold. If my brother had this in his possession, he may have hidden it at my parents house. Maggie, can you take care of her? I need to go and see if this thing is there."

"Of course, Sirius. Please, be safe," she asked me, and he smiled at the reflection of his mother in law.

"Sirius, you should stay, help take care of her," Collinda pleaded, but Sirius shook his head.

"The house is well protected, I don't even know if Moony could find it, and he's been there. Please, let me do this. Let me be the one to protect her for a change."

"Fine, but I'll go with you," Collinda said, and Remus, Sirius and Collinda were soon gone.

* * *

The house was lit by candlelight and the tree was glowing from the fairy lights. Ellie had recovered from her poisoning, and was feeling better. The fourth item, the real locket, had been found by Sirius and was promptly destroyed. The last two bits were proving difficult to locate. One bit was in that thing that Ellie and Sirius had seen the day that she and Harry had been kidnapped. What everyone assumed was the remnant of Voldemort. The other bit, however, was completely elusive.

They had seen it in the castle the night of the diary incident, but it wasn't ever seen again. On occasion, a faint glow could be found, but they couldn't even pinpoint it's location. It seemed to move around, and then disappear completely. It was enough to make some of the princesses question if there really was a sixth bit, or if, perhaps, they were only looking for five. Ellie was certain that there was another one, and she had an idea of where they would need to look.

The Founders were continuing to search for it, as was Queen Maeve, but it would be something that only time would tell. Time would also tell him if his wife were really alright from her experiences on the hunt. She often looked through him, as if there was something else playing for her mind, just behind her eyes. She had told him some of what had happened, but she found her nightmares to be far more telling. Whatever it was that she'd experienced, it was still terrifying her. Given the amount of times that she called out her younger daughter's name, Sirius believed that it had to do with Quinn being taken from them.

"Sirius, I think that we need to go to the house in Godric's Hollow," Ellie said as she and Sirius sat together on the couch.

"Why Lolly?"

"He made these things when he'd committed significant murders. He had been after Jamie and Lily for so long, he wanted them out of the way. What if that thing is hidden in the house there? What if he made one of them after murdering Jamie?"

There was silence, Sirius knew that she was right, but he was in no rush to go back there. He'd been there that night, seen the devastation. He wanted nothing to do with it, and he didn't want Ellie to go through that either.

"Ellie, I don't know..."

"I know, it was hard for you, I'm not saying that I want to go today or tomorrow; maybe next spring or summer. I want to stay home for a while. It was...Sirius the hunt was..." Ellie started crying, it was the most honest that she'd been with him in weeks.

"Okay, sometime next year, we'll go. Right now, you're safe. I promise, you're safe, we are all safe," Sirius told her, stroking her arms and kissing her head.

"Mama, Papa," a voice behind gave them a start. They both turned and looked at Harry, standing there in his pajamas.

"Harry, is everything alright?" Sirius asked.

"I needed some warm milk, I have another headache. I heard what you were saying. When you go, I want to go with you."

Sirius and Ellie looked at him, and before Sirius could protest, Ellie answered him.

"You can go with us. You're old enough to know."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Okay, I just wanted to get you another chapter before my operation. It will be at least two weeks before I will have another one, so I am sorry that I am leaving you the way that this chapter ends, but you know, anticipation of things desired makes them all the more welcome when they come. The chapter is dedicated to Collinda, my muse for this story; and my cheerleader in life. Everyone should have a friend like her in their lives. I also want to thank my dearest friend, you know who you are; and you know why I thank you. I would not be where I am in life, if it were not for you. Okay, well just warning you, there's a bit of a cliffhanger. Thanks to all who are reading and to my loyal reviewers, and extra little squeeze. See you in a few weeks. Mutt**

**Chapter 13:**

**Lifting the Veil**

**July 30, 1993**

"Meil, I am so glad that you could make it," Ellie said, hugging her friend as she entered the backyard of the grounds on the farm in Italy.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here, I kept trying to leave the office, but I was stopped by one thing after another. Finally, Devon came and made up some excuse so that I could leave. I would have missed the portkey if I hadn't gone then. I left the things for Harry in on the table, and put my case up in the guest room. I like the new floor that you added to the house."

"We needed it, Ginny needed her own space and we needed more guest rooms, since her parents like to come and visit her, often. Thankfully, Sirius and Remus were able to make it look like we were constructing it the conventional way, so that no one driving by would get suspicious," Ellie explained as she poured her friend a tall glass of fruited iced tea and lead her back to where everyone else was sitting. Amelia grabbed her friend by the elbow after taking the glass, halting her in her walk toward the group.

"I noticed that there is an empty room up there. Any chance that it's going to be a nursery?" Amelia asked, hopefully.

"Um," Ellie stammered, "we just haven't gotten to decorating it yet." She started walking again, and Amelia got the hint that she wasn't supposed to ask any more. She knew how much it had hurt Ellie and Sirius when they lost the babies a few years ago, and while Ellie had told her that they were no longer trying, she still believed that the couple wanted another child.

She followed her friend out to the shady pergola, the wisteria flowers were in full bloom and the scent was sweet as they shaded the area below. Molly, Arthur, Bill and Ron were here to celebrate with Harry. They had left the twins at home with Percy, hoping that their house would still be standing when they arrived back. The family would be leaving on their family vacation in a few weeks, it would be the first time that Harry and Ginny would be apart from one another since she moved here last October.

Along with the Weasley's and Amelia, the only other people at the party were Harry's family. The younger children -- Quinn, Andy and Rachel -- were playing in the play yard on the far side of the yard. Harry, Ginny, Ainsley and Ron were talking about magic. Harry, Ginny and Ainsley had recently gotten back their International Standard Wizarding Examination scores, and Ron was jealous of how well his sister had done.

"Wait, you're telling me that you passed the third year Potions examination? You're only a first year!" Ron complained.

"The exams don't really work like that. There is one test, and you go as far as you can in it, and wherever you stop, that's as far as they grade you. I had no idea that I was doing Second and Third year work, I simply answered the questions and made the potions that I could. One thing that I can say for sure, Miss Ellie is a much better teacher than Professor Snape," Ginny explained.

"That wouldn't be hard," Ron grumbled. Ellie, Sirius and Remus had to hide their amused faces from the children.

"So, Harry, how did you do?" Amelia asked, also wanting to change the subject away from Severus Snape. There was something about that man that she needed to discuss with the adults later.

"Generally, I did well. I finished the examination in Magical Creatures, but I only was awarded an Above Requirements, so I think that I will work on it again in the fall, and retake the exam in January. Potions, sixth year Mastery; Defense, sixth year Mastery; Charms, fifth year Mastery; History, seventh year Mastery -- although I am going to continue studying history. Um, Runes, fifth year Above Requirements; Divination, fourth year Above Requirements," Harry stopped and made a face at the class. Grace scowled and Ellie giggle at the response. "And, I got a seventh year Mastery in Astronomy, but Papa and I are going to keep working on it this year. I need to learn how to do night star orientation still, which isn't required for the exams. I can't take the exam in Healing until I am at least 13, so that will have to wait for next year, and there aren't any exams in Combat strategy, Flying, Faith and Mama's family's magic, so I don't know how I would do with those, but my teachers think that I'm doing well," Harry added proudly. Ellie and Sirius both nodded their affirmation of their sons good work.

Ron was counting on his fingers, and then looked up in horror, "That's thirteen classes, how do you take thirteen classes?"

"Well, we don't have all of them every day, we have a schedule, and some of them we do twice a week, others we only do once a week, I don't know, we just do. It doesn't seem like work, does it?" Harry turned and asked Ginny. She smiled and nodded at him.

"Honestly, no," Ginny confirmed. "Ron, it's like, we learn by doing and we're encouraged to think about what is going on and how it works. I don't know, I can't really explain it, but often the hour is up, and it feels like we haven't been there for five minutes. Plus, working with Harry and Ainsley is challenging. They knew so much more when I got here, I wanted to work hard to keep up with them."

"You did more than keep up with them, the three of you push each other. Ginny, you've learned so much more than any of us expected," Ellie affirmed her.

"Thanks, Miss Ellie," Ginny said with a blush.

"Well, Harry, if you ever want to put those charms skills to work, get in touch with me. I'd love to show you around the crypts in Egypt and see what you think of some of the curses that we come across," Bill said. "And you, little sister, I can't believe how well you did here," he said putting a scroll of parchment down. "You're quite the scholar here. You give Percy a run for the gold at being the most studious."

"Thanks, Bill," Ginny said, getting up and hugging him. Ginny had always been close with her biggest brother.

"Okay, enough talking about school," Ainsley said. "We're on our three week break for summer. I don't want to think about learning for a while longer. I think we need to take a swim in the lake. Anyone want to join me?"

The other three agreed and were getting up from the table and headed off to the lake, when Sirius cleared his throat. "I believe that you're forgetting something. You know the rules."

"Yes, Papa," Ainsley groaned, and they all turned and went into the house to change. When they were gone, Ellie and Sirius started laughing.

"They are so much like us, and we sound like my mother!" Ellie giggled. The rest of the adults looked puzzled.

"Mrs. Potter always had to remind James, Ellie and I to wear our swimsuits when we went to the pond. We hated it, and we didn't understand why -- until Ellie and I started dating. I suppose children are always children," Sirius explained.

"But Harry isn't a child. As of today, he can lay claim to his heritage," Amelia said, and Ellie nodded.

"We're going to tell him later. He has no idea what he's getting for his birthday this year," Ellie said, sadness seeping into her tone.

Later that evening, a large bonfire had been set ablaze, and everyone was laughing. Harry had opened his gifts, and he thought that his new Quidditch standard, professional level broom was the best gift; but he still had two packages to open.

As Harry was slipping the paper off of the first, Ellie and Sirius looked at each other, confused. Ellie then looked at Amelia, questioning her friend with her eyes. Amelia shrugged and then said:

"I don't know, it was in with my stuff, but it passed all the tests that Devon put them through before letting me go."

As Harry opened the gift, not only did his eyes get wide; but those of Sirius, Remus and Grace as well. Ellie's hand went to her mouth, and she began to tear up.

"What is this?" Harry asked as he lifted the delicate robe from the wrappings.

"Harry, can I see that please?" Sirius asked his son, and Harry dutifully handed it over. Sirius ran his hands over the fabric, and then draped it across his lap, causing his legs to effectively disappear. "Harry, I believe that this is an invisibility cloak, and not just any cloak, but your fathers."

"Where did it come from? I thought that it was lost the night that..." Ellie trailed off.

"James didn't have it with him," Remus explained. "He usually gave it to me, to take with me up to the cabin. He'd told me that it was on loan to someone. I figured that it had to do with the Order."

"This is so cool," Harry said as he wrapped the robe around himself, making himself invisible.

"That it is, sport; but, you need to use it wisely," Sirius reminded him.

"Yes, Papa, I know," Harry said as he took it off and folded it back up.

"Harry, was there any card or anything with it?" Ellie asked, and Harry looked through the wrappings to find none, and shook his head as a response.

"Why would it be returned now?" Molly asked and Ellie just looked forlorn at the question.

"I think that it might have to do with this last present. Harry, open it up, and then Papa and I will explain it to you," Ellie said, carefully watching as he son lifted the last box and slid the top off of it. Inside were a two sets of robes; one a set of Plum Wizengamot robes; the other, a heavy set of black ones that had the Potter crest fixed to them, and a medallion on a wide, red ribbon attached. Harry took out the family robes and shook them out, laying them against his body, his fingers tracing the Potter family crest.

"I don't understand, I'm not of age for another four years."

"You're not of legal age to do magic until you are seventeen, but according to some very old traditions, you are of age to take over the family seat and titles," Sirius explained. "As of today, you are the head of the Potter family."

"But, Mama does all of that, she's the oldest, and she's earned it," Harry protested, and Ellie went over to kneel before the boy.

"Yes, I have been attending to the family business since your father died, but now that you are of age, it is your rite and responsibility. Now, you won't be alone, your Papa and I can continue to advise you, but you are the one in charge of the Potter legacy."

"I don't understand, why now?" Harry asked, very confused.

"Oh, Harry, it has to do with some stupid very old laws, the same ones the govern the whole betrothal process, and while we are not arranging a marriage for you, we need to pass the peerage on to you, now, or else someone else could lay claim to the family heritage," Ellie continued to explain.

"But, I can't...I don't know how to..." he stammered, looking overwhelmed. "How did this happen?"

"Harry, let me try and explain this to you," Amelia started. "Pure blood families have always been worried about keeping their land, their money and most importantly, their seats in the Wizengamot in the family. When these laws were made, there was still a great deal of conflict within Great Britain, which often spilled over into the Wizarding world. Life expectancy was much shorter than it is now. Basically, the law states that if the primary holder of the family title had died before the successor had reached the age of thirteen, an advisor could be given the rites and privileges of the family. However, when the male heir reached the age of thirteen, it was their duty to take over the family responsibilities. It was done at this age, so that if you'd had a betrothal made for you, the family of the young woman that you would marry would be given two years to see how you and your advisors handled things. If they were displeased, they could either choose to break the betrothal before the Age of Announcement at fifteen or they could keep the betrothal in place, adding conditions to make sure that you learned what you needed to know before the marriage took place. It basically kept young men who were less than honorable from squandering their fortunes before their weddings, and protecting the fortune that they were marrying into."

"Wow, glad to know that money and power are the most important things in the Wizarding world," Harry said sarcastically.

"Harry, my boy, you have no idea," Sirius said darkly, and it made Harry wonder just how bad things had been for his Papa growing up. It wasn't something that he or Ellie ever talked about, or why it took them so long to be married.

"So, I have to go to England to vote in the Wizengamot?" Harry asked.

"No," Ellie answered him. "Your Papa and I have been voting by proxy since we left ten years ago. We maintain our properties, pay our taxes, keep up on the legislation and debate; but we don't go in person to vote."

Harry sat there for a moment, digesting what he was being told. He looked around the room. There were proud smiles on the faces of the adults and Bill, Ginny and Ainsley beamed at him, Quinn looked bored -- but she always looked that way when the conversation wasn't about her -- and Ron looked? Harry wasn't sure, but he almost looked jealous. Harry wasn't sure why. He didn't want this, he didn't want to have to worry about assets and voting and properties? Did they say properties?

"Mama, Papa, what do you mean, you maintain the properties?" Harry asked them, and Ellie smiled while Sirius chuckled.

"Harry, son, between your Mama and I, we own quite a few houses. I hold the deed to the Black family home; Grimmauld Place -- do you remember going there when Mus and Grace were married?" Sirius asked him and Harry shrugged his shoulder, unsure of what it was that he remembered.

"That's okay, we weren't there very long that day. I also own a house on the Isle, but you've never been there. I never liked it as well as the Potter home. There is also a country estate that is part of the Black family, but no one has lived there in generations, so I don't know what condition it's in. It's in Wales, along the coast, and the weather there is quite harsh," Sirius concluded.

"Oh, so you own three houses?" Harry asked, still confused. Sirius nodded his reply. Harry then looked to Ellie, "Mama, what about you. What do the Potter's own?"

"Well, Harry, as of today, you are the Master of the Potter Family Home. It was the first place that you lived, although you moved not long after your first birthday. You also own a small hunting cottage, but if you don't mind, your Papa and I would like to hold onto that for a while. It's a very special place for us," Ellie said with a blush as she looked at her husband. There were sly smiles on the faces of the Weasley's and the Lupin's. The couples both knew that was where Ellie and Sirius had spent their wedding night.

"That's fine, I don't really need a house. Is there anything else?"

"Harry, you also own the house in Godric's Hollow," Ellie said quietly. Harry sat down when she said that.

"I own the house that my Mum and Dad were killed in?" His voice was quiet as he said this, not really as a question, but more of a weak statement. Sirius sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around him, and Grace reached over and put her hand on his arm.

"Sport, I know that it's not a happy place for you, and no one expects you to live there, but we can't get rid of it either. When you see it, you'll understand," Sirius comforted him. They had already talked about it, and they were going to take him in another week or so. The girls would be staying with Amelia at the Ministry while Harry and his parents went to the house with Devon.

"Wait, I don't need all of this. What about Ainsley? What about Quinn?" Harry protested.

"Harry, your sisters both have their own inheritances. Ainsley is the heir to the fortune of the Queen's line. She will own the castle in Ireland and the house on the Isle. She will gain all of that, as well as the Hightower seat on the Wizengamot when I pass," Ellie explained.

"As for Quinn, she is the heir to the Black family fortune and properties. All three of you will one day sit on the Wizengamot together, from three different family lines, and three different peerages. Any children you have will then inherit it from you," Sirius explained. "I know that it's so much to take in, but for right now Harry, there is nothing that you have to worry about. Your Mama and I will continue to guide you and you've got others around you to give you counsel, should you need it."

Harry looked around the room, knowing that should he need, he could always turn to Mus and Grace or the Weasley's. He would even ask questions of Amelia, but then it struck him that if he was asking any of them, that would mean that he wasn't asking his parents, and that thought unsettled him. Ellie could see that dark thoughts were passing through Harry's mind, so she quickly changed the subject, moving the party back to happier times.

"Who would like some Chocolate cake and Blackberry ice cream? We picked the berries from our own bushes and Quinn helped me make the ice cream this morning," Ellie said and there were confirmations that people wanted the dessert. Ellie got up and went into the house, a parade of guests following her. Harry hung back, looking at the flames of the bonfire. A small hand sliding into his broke his concentration.

"Harry, are you okay?" Ginny asked him.

"I guess...I don't know. Those are some gifts..." he muttered.

"Yes, they are. You're very fortunate," Ginny replied. Harry turned to look at her.

"I didn't mean that I wasn't glad for them," he said and Ginny smiled gently at him.

"I know that, Harry. But I think that you're feeling overwhelmed by them," she said.

"Yeah, I guess I am. I just don't know how to...I don't feel ready, Inny."

"You don't have to be. Miss Ellie and Mister Sirius aren't going anywhere. Think of it this way, you're going to learn about all of this stuff, just like it's another class. That way, when you have to do something with all of it, you'll know how," Ginny told him, and that made Harry smile.

"How come you always know just what I need?"

"I'm your best friend, that's why," she told him, picking up his hand and kissing the palm and then wrapping his fingers around it. "You're never going to be alone, Harry. I will always be with you to help you."

Harry lifted Ginny's hand and kissed it in return. "Thank you, my Inny. That's the best gift of all." The two stood there looking at each other, until they heard Quinn yelling out the back door.

"Harry, if you don't get in here and cut the cake, none of us can eat it!"

""Guess we'd better go," Harry said, and he and Ginny went into the house.

* * *

Ten days later, the Potter-Black family was standing in a conference room in the Magical Law Enforcement offices. Amelia would be sitting here with the girls, along with a new Auror who she had come to trust, Kingsley Shaklebolt. They were both working on finding information about the movements of the former Death Eaters, including Raleigh and Thornfin Rowle. Neither of them trusted the way that the Ministry was dealing with the Death Eaters that remained on the loose -- that is to say, they were ignoring them.

Devon would be traveling with Sirius, Ellie and Harry to the remains of the house in Godric's Hollow. There, they would be met by Queen Maeve and Gormlaith, who would scry within the house for the final horcrux. It was perplexing to all of them that this last bit was so elusive.

"Okay, girls, you're to listen to Miss Amelia and do exactly as she says. You are not to go anywhere alone. Am I understood?" Ellie asked the girls, sounding every bit the mother she was.

"Yes, Mama," they replied in unison.

"Don't worry about them, Ellie. I've got lots of games here, and Kingsley is a mean exploding snap player. We will be fine, the whole Auror department knows that they're here, no one will let anything happen to them," Amelia reassured her, and Ellie nodded.

"Oh, and if we get any visitors from Hogwarts..."

"I know, they're not to be alone with him. However, if Minerva stops by, I think we'll invite her in for a game of _Tricking the Troll_," Amelia said with a smile, talking about the girls favorite game.

"That's fine. I don't expect to be more than a few hours, but if we're going to be longer, I will get in touch with you," Sirius said. Amelia had seen his patronus many times, but every time it bounded into her office, it still startled her.

"Harry, are you ready?" Ellie asked her son, and he nodded. The quartet left the conference room and headed down to the apparition platforms. Sirius wrapped a strong arm around Harry and the familiar pull started. When they landed outside the village of Godric's Hollow, Harry collapsed to the ground.

"I really would have have Collinda move us around," he said as he caught his breath.

"We're just outside the village, we'll need to walk into town and then over to the house," Sirius said. "Everyone, just prepare yourselves. The last time I saw the place, it was...it won't be easy to see."

The quartet walked through the small village, smiling at people, and noticing that the market carts were full of delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, brought in for the harvest. There was a small cafe with people dining outside in the late morning sunshine. As Harry passed, people looked at him oddly, as if they recognized him. The stares made him want to hide his face. He walked to where his Mama was, and wrapped an arm around her, and she returned the embrace, recognizing that Harry was distressed about being here.

They passed through the center of town, and then turned onto a small lane. The houses were covered in ivy and they all had beautifully tended gardens. To Harry, it looked like it had been the perfect place to live. The houses got farther apart as they walked down the lane, and the road went from being paved with bricks to simply being chips of stone. There was a sharp curve to the left and then they saw it, the broken remains of a house. Harry knew that it must have been where he last lived with his Mum and Dad, and the house in which they had died.

Sirius stared at the house. It hadn't changed much since he was here twelve years ago. The roof was caved in on one side of the second floor, and the front door was blown off it's hinges. There wasn't any glass in any of the windows, and the vines that had covered the front of the house were now growing into the structure. He wondered if it was the strength of the vines that was keeping what was left of the house erect.

Ellie stopped cold in her tracks when she saw the place. She suddenly felt cold and almost sick to her stomach. This was where Jamie and Lily had died. This is the place that Peter had given Voldemort the location of, so that he could kill them. She could swear that she could feel the dark magic prickling against her skin, trying to invade her somehow. Her fingers ran over the protection pouch that she was wearing under her blouse, thankful that she'd made new ones for this trip, and that they were all wearing them. It wasn't until she saw Queen Maeve in the remains of the doorway that she knew that she had to go forward.

Ellie kept her arm around her son, and Sirius came over and put a protective hand on his back. His fingers were touching the edge of Ellie's arm, letting her know that he was there for her too. The trio went inside, leaving Devon outside to keep guard, along with two of the unseen princesses. After all of the time that he spent with the Potter-Blacks, his invisible counterparts were a welcome addition to the watch.

The family stepped inside, and Ellie could immediately feel the beginnings of a revealing spell that Queen Maeve must have been setting up. Her skin felt like it was buzzing against her. Harry's hand went to his temple and began to massage it.

"Another headache?" Sirius asked. Harry had been getting more and more of them, in increasing severity. They had checked the prescription in his glasses, and while it needed to be adjusted; the act hadn't lessened the attacks. Grace had made him a potion for allergies, thinking that perhaps the pain was related to his sinuses. He hadn't been on it long, but it hadn't improved anything either.

"Just a twinge," Harry replied, downplaying the throbbing in his head for his Mama and his Papa. Today was already a hard enough day for them.

"Alright, we're going to start in here, with a simply scry," Queen Maeve explained. "If we turn up anything, then I will do the revealing spell."

Everyone nodded, and Maeve went to the table where her items were spread out. "Ellie, please come and help me. If it was something that belonged to your brother, your blood ties will help with the scrying."

Ellie untangled herself from Harry, and kissed him on the cheek before looking up into Sirius eyes. Unspoken words passed between them, and the Ellie joined the Queen. They joined hands and began the incantation, and the map that was on the table began to glow, indicating the house that they were in.

Queen Maeve said another incantation, and a replica of the house rose up from the paper, and once again reaching for Ellie's hand, the pair said the first incantation over. The house started to glow, and then all of the light began to confine itself in one room -- the sitting room -- the one that they were now in.

"Well, the item is here," Maeve said with a decided authoritative voice. "Everyone, start looking. If come across anything that you don't recognize or that feels either very warm or very cold, please tell me."

Ellie turned around and started looking at the books on the shelves behind her. SIrius stayed with Harry, and the pair were looking at some small items that were scattered across the mantle. Everyone took their time, hoping to be as thorough as possible, but after twenty minutes, no one had come up with anything that was even a remotely potential horcrux.

"Okay, we're going to need to force the item to reveal itself. We know that it is here. Ellie, would you move the rune by the door into place and Gormlaith, please do the same for the one by the western wall," Maeve asked. The two women did as they were asked, and immediately, the room took on a yellowish hue.

Harry's hand once again went to temple, massaging the pain. Sirius wrapped an arm around him.

"Maybe we should send Harry outside for this?" he asked.

"If I break the spell walls now, we will need to let the spell clear and then start over from the beginning. That would take seven days," Maeve answered.

"Papa, I'm fine. Let's just get this over," Harry answered.

Ellie went to stand on the other side of Harry, and watched as Maeve raised her hands, and began the incantation in Gaelic. The gentle yellow of the room turned golden, then orange and finally a brilliant red. It seemed as though the room was on fire.

As the hue made it's final transition, Harry screamed out in pain, both hands going to his head and he fell to the floor doubled over in pain. His parents quickly knelt down beside him, and uncurled him so that his mother could cradle his head.

His scar was bleeding.

Fresh red blood was dripping down Harry's forehead, and a horrible faint squeal could be heard in the room. It sounded as if someone had trapped a rat by the tail and it was trying to free itself. Gormlaith looked around the room while Ellie tried to calm Harry and Sirius was screaming questions at Queen Maeve.

"Silence," Maeve demanded, and the room was quiet. She knelt over Harry, listening intently. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pouch, and rubbed it over Harry's head. The action made him scream out in greater agony.

"What did you do to him?" Sirius demanded. "What is that thing?"

"Sirius, it's just a protection pouch. That noise that we're hearing, it's coming from inside of Harry. It started when I commanded the remaining bit of Voldemort's soul to show itself."

The room was still for a moment.

"What are you saying?" Ellie asked, her face already contorted in pain, and hot, fearful tears were running down her face.

"The horcrux, it would seem," the Queen paused, this was news that she did not want to deliver. "It would appear to be inside of young Harry's scar."

The world stopped for Ellie. Before her eyes flashed the mangled and destroyed objects that had held the other parts of Voldemort's soul. They had not managed to destroy any of the horcruxes without destroying the objects that housed them. Fear gripped her, this was her child, her son. She would not seem him destroyed. She opened her mouth, and no words came out, just the painful, wailing, guttural scream for a mother, mourning her child.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: I know, I know, I left you hanging with a major cliffie there and then left you for a month. I am really sorry, but recovery has been harder than I thought that it would be. I am back, and I promise the issue from the end of the last chapter has been resolved. I am writing again, so the chapters should come faster, and there are only six more in this story, so the quicker I can get them written and edited, the faster you can get them all. I am also starting my next story, my first Harry and Ginny story, called "Continuum". Look for it sometime in the spring. I am going to finish, or be closed to finished before I start publishing. Thanks to my beta, HGRH35, for her quick turn around on this chapter. And now, enjoy, and don't let the title frighten you. MNF**

**Chapter 14:**

**Ancient Greek Death**

**January 18, 1994**

Ellie Potter paced the floor in the lounge of her home. Her husband, son, best friends, Queen Maeve and several princesses watched her. It was finally Harry that broke the silence.

"Mama, please. You're the only one who I trust," the thirteen year old pleaded with his adoptive mother.

"Harry, you have no idea what you're asking. If I don't do this right, if something goes wrong...Harry, I would never, ever forgive myself," Ellie tried to explain.

"Ellie, honey, we've been over this. No one has any other idea of how to do excise that thing inside of him. I know that you've brewed it before..." Sirius tried to calm his wife, but she cut him off.

"Sirius, I brewed these potions when I was working on my Potions Master. It was a controlled setting, and we only had to test them on a plant and a rat. The worst thing that could happen was that I killed a rat -- and believe me, the symbolism there hasn't been lost on me. It is a very different thing to give a potion to a small rodent than to give it to a wizard, much less my own child."

"Is there anyone else that you would trust to brew it with you, or for you?" Grace asked. "Maybe someone from your old job?" Ellie shook her head vehemently at the notion.

"They'd sooner collect dragon eggs than to brew this potion, trust me. I would be the one that was called upon to do it," Ellie explained. "The only person I would have even considered doing this with was Lily. Of course, if Lily were here, all of this would be moot," Ellie said with a sigh as she slumped down in the oversized chair by the fireplace, running her hands through her hair as a muffled sob escaped her.

"Eleanor," Queen Maeve started, and Ellie knew that she was about to get a bit of a tongue lashing. Ellie looked up at the matriarch of her line, struggling to make eye contact. "I know that you're scared, but this must be done. There is no other way to get the Horcrux without killing Harry. We've discussed this for six months, it has to be this way. I promise you, you will not be alone while you do this."

"How do you even know that it will work? How do we know that thing will emerge when we give Harry the potion? What if it attacks Harry while his soul is out of his body? How are we going to keep him safe then?" Ellie peppered her with questions.

"We don't know that it will work, but Eleanor, we've had some of the best minds working on this; your sister princesses agree that this is the only viable way, as do the Hogwarts founders. You have to trust that all of these learned minds have Harry's best interest at heart," she explained in a calm and even tone.

"As for keeping Harry safe," Gormlaith started speaking, "as soon as his spirit emerges, we will surround him. You need to trust that we will keep Harry safe. His grandmother will be there to comfort him and care for him, and the rest of us will fight with all we have, if that's necessary."

"As for the bit of Voldemort," Queen Maeve started talking again, "leave that to me. Professor Slytherin and I have come up with a way to take care of him."

Ellie rubbed her face with her hands, and then again through her hair, parting it and putting it in a loose braid. Sirius could tell that she was thinking, the answers she had been given were too logical, she was breaking. They just needed to continue to give her rational answers to combat her fear.

"If I agree to do this," Ellie started, emphasizing the word if, "there are some very odd ingredients that I will need to get my hands on. Honestly, Opium and Fluxweed are going to be hard enough, but we need a few drops of the Elixir of Life, and there is only one person I know who can brew it, and well, it's not like I can waltz up to Nicolas Flamel and just ask him for it. The minute we do that, Dumbledore is going to know that we're up to something, and I'd rather we keep this from him."

"Ellie, there are others in the world who can brew the Elixir of Life, leave the procurement of that to me," Queen Maeve said cryptically. "As for the other two items, I think that you are married to a man who is more than capable of manipulating the perception of the apothecary to get what you need."

Neither Ellie or Sirius liked the idea of playing with the memories or manipulating a fellow witch or wizard into doing what they wanted, but this was a dire situation.

"Fine, even if we get the ingredients, and I am actually able to brew both the _´ypno thanátou _potion and the _x´yp__ni__ma thanátou _potion, what are we going to about testing it. I mean we have a whole farm worth of plants and animals that it can be tested on, but I am NOT giving it to my son without knowing what it will do to him. We're talking about a several thousand year old potion that isn't used anymore, for a reason," Ellie demanded. The potion was used often in ancient Greece, so that people could communicate with the gods and goddesses. You died, and those around you had one hour to administer the antidote potion, which had to be brewed fresh. The pair were abandoned, however, because sometimes people didn't really come back right. Their minds sustained too much time without proper functioning and they were caught between the two worlds, not really alive, not really dead.

"Test it on me," a voice said and Ellie turned her head to look at Remus. As Ellie stared at him, she was slack jawed and shaking her head.

"What? Are you crazy? Gracie, talk some sense into your husband!"

"We've already discussed this. We both believe in your potions making ability, and if it's a human that you want to test it on, then we were will to let you use one of us. We tossed a coin, and Remus won," Grace responded.

"You call that winning?" Ellie retorted with a snort and Remus walked over to her, kneeling down in front of her and putting his hands on her knees.

"You and I have been through a lot over the years, but I have absolute trust in your abilities. You gave me back my life, let me show you that this is safe for Harry. I know that you're afraid, but Ellie, this really is the only way," Remus said so honestly and with such genuine trust that Ellie couldn't say anything. Instead, she just reached forward and hugged her friend.

"Fine," she said as she pulled away, making eye contact with everyone in the room, "but, we test it repeatedly on other things before I give it to Remus and then Harry."

"Lolly love, no one here doubted that it would be any other way," Sirius said as he replaced Remus in front of his wife. "I promise I will be with you through all of this, and you'll see, Harry will be fine and the Horcrux will be gone."

"Sirius, sweetheart, you had better be right," Ellie said solemnly as she fell into her husband's embrace.

* * *

It took two weeks for all of the ingredients to be gathered. Some were easy to come by: Belladonna and dried Mandrake leaves were common items, included in every Potion Masters kit. Foxglove, Oleander and Cecropia were common enough at the Apothecary, and Ellie's status made them easy for her to procure. The Potter-Black's quickly planted Rhubarb in their greenhouse and they had it come to maturity within weeks, sped along with a little spell work from Sirius wand.

Sirius, Grace and Ellie decided to go to France to get the tightly regulated items, rather than trying to buy them near their home. The distance would give them greater anonymity, and they chose a moderate sized town so that they could blend in, but not so large that they would likely to be recognized, or that someone might see them pulling one over on the shopkeeper.

Just like in the Muggle world, Opium was tightly regulated in the Wizarding one -- wizards can get addicted just the same. Fluxweed was regulated due to its power of reversing the any potions already in someone's body. Both were generally used only in controlled medicinal settings by Healers.

Grace flirted with the apothecary while Sirius put a mild _Confundus_ charm on the poor man. Ellie was able to produce a blank sheet of parchment that to the addled shopkeeper appeared to be a legitimate request for the items. Ellie made sure she had enough for four batches of the potions, just in case.

Ellie brewed the first batch shortly after they arrived home, and immediately had Sirius select several plant specimens from their greenhouse. To make sure that the potion and it's reversal potion were working, they chose plants that were in several stages of growth. The plants all were revived, and a few even grew from their initial state. Being bolstered on by this success, Sirius brought Ellie a mouse that they had caught in the barn. Again, the potion worked without any problems.

A few days later, a second batch was brewed. Ellie was still quite cautious, and this one would be another test run on some of the larger animals on their farm. Grace and Remus took all of the children into town, so that none of them had to witness their favorite chicken or goat being tested on. The animals were all revived, although it took a little extra potion to bring the goat back completely. Sirius thought that they should test it on the cow, but Ellie laid her foot down.

"You just don't like the cow because she kicks you when you try to milk her," Ellie teased.

"It's not just that, Lolly. She gives me the evil eye when I walk by," Sirius told her, and Ellie burst out laughing.

"The cow gives you an evil eye? Really? Sirius, that has to be one of the dumbest things that I have ever heard you say. Go on now, the children will be back soon, and I need to adjust a few of these amounts here on the restoration potion, to accommodate for the fact that Harry and Remus are both larger than a goat," Ellie said, picking up her parchment and heading for the desk at the far side of her potions lab. Sirius started herding the goats out, and just opened the door and let the chickens walk out free. The children could gather them up later.

"You'd know if it worked or not if you tested it on the cow," he threw back as he left the lab out the back door. Ellie just shook her head at her husband.

* * *

After another week of calculations and revisions, Ellie was ready to make the potion for Remus. If she was able to revive him immediately, then Harry would be done, post haste, as she would be able to use the remaining ingredients from Remus' potion for Harry. That would leave her one batch worth of supplies, should something go wrong.

The princesses were gathered, some were visible, some were not. The best assumption that they could work on is that the disembodied soul would present itself in the astral world, rather than the corporeal one. Both contingents, however, were ready to do battle when the time came. Ellie had never asked what it was that Queen Maeve and the Founders had created for the Horcrux that would leave Harry. Part of her didn't want to know, as she had seen what damage was done to the inanimate objects, and how the soul parts had squealed and cried out when they were destroyed. She just hoped that her sons soul and body would fare better.

Ellie sat alone in her lab, going over the entire potion in her mind, again and again. She used to watch Jamie do this before a Quidditch match, especially when he was captain. She never thought that she would be doing it over a potion. She felt her ring spin on her finger and then a rough pair of hands massaging her shoulders and neck. Sirius was here with her, just like he had promised he would be, to give her support through this. Ellie silently wondered how she ever would have lived her life without him and his love.

"Lolly love, are you ready?"

"I am," she said with a nod. "Let's get the first potion ready, and then I'll start the second, and leave it in stasis until we're ready for it. Remember, I am only going to finish off half of each of these now, and if it works on Remus, we'll do the rest for..." Ellie stopped, and took a shuttering breath. "I can't believe I am actually going to purposefully give my friend and my son a potion called the _Greek Death Sleep. _I am a horrible mother."

Sirius forcefully turned her chair around and took her face in his hands, his thumbs running over her cheekbones. "You are not a horrible mother," he told her sternly. "You are saving your child, our child. Lolly, stop beating yourself up about this. Do you know how lucky we are that you can do this? Can you only imagine if we'd had to find someone else to brew it, or even explain to them why we wanted to? Harry would be livid if he heard you calling yourself horrible, he's scared enough; don't make him feel worse." It was a command from Sirius, something he rarely did. Ellie's surprise at hearing him talk this way was enough to shake her free from her doubts, and get one with the work at hand.

A little over an hour later, Ellie walked into the house holding a phial with a deep red potion inside. She was still wearing her dragon hide gloves, as the potion could indeed burn through skin if it came into contact with it. Sirius was following her watching the path that she was walking so he could clear obstacles that might be there.

Molly had come to watch the younger three, and they were all happily in the Lupin's house next door, making homemade dolls or something. She knew that it had something to do with Harry and Voldemort, and asked to be told nothing more than that. Apparently, Professor Dumbledore had been questioning Molly and Arthur about the Potter-Black's and if Ginny would be returning to Hogwarts. The Weasley's had decided that the less they knew, the better.

Remus was sitting on the sofa, Grace next to him, their hands entwined so tightly that their knuckles were white. Harry and Ginny were sitting at the kitchen table, a clear view of what would happen. Harry had begged that Ginny be allowed to stay with him, and after much deliberation, it was decided that both she and Ainsley would be with the family. Many of the princesses wanted them there, as they were both strong in their witchcraft, and Harry had ties with his younger sister and his best friend that could be useful.

Ellie came close and stood in front of her friend. "You're sure about this," she said slowly, enunciating every word.

"I told you I was. How long are you planning on leaving me..." Remus struggled for the right word, "...under?"

"You've got to be, under," she said, repeating his word as if it were a hiccup escaping her, "for at least twenty minutes, then I can administer the antidote. Remember, you should be able to see the princesses on the other side, Collinda will be looking for you, to act as your guide."

"Got it," he said with a nod. "Any other words of wisdom before I drink this down?"

"Don't spill it, because the antidote doesn't work as a topical reversal and this can really burn," Ellie said and for the first time all day, Remus cracked a smile.

"Now you tell me that it could burn away my skin, geesh Ellie, it would have been better if you'd given me all of the side effects before I agreed," Remus dead-paned and the tension was lightened from the room.

"Okay, Sirius, the mug, please," Ellie said, and Sirius reached onto the coffee table for the enchanted mug that would hold the potion. As she took the mug and started pouring it in, Sirius pulled his wand and looked at his old friend.

"Let me charm your mouth and tongue, so that you don't get burned from the stuff," Sirius directed, and Remus opened his mouth. When he was done, Sirius backed away, and Ellie handed Remus the mug.

"Remember, it acts quickly, so we'll need to lower him on his back once it hits. Sirius, get behind him to watch his head please. Ainsley, as soon as he starts drinking, please start the timer, and when it reaches fifteen minutes, let me know so I can go and get the antidote finished," Ellie directed her daughter.

"Got it, Mama," Ainsley replied. She was time keeper as she seemed to be the least emotionally involved in all of this.

A final look passed between Remus and his friends and then he looked at Grace.

"Don't give me that look," she said to Remus, "I'll be right here when you wake up from your nap. You're not getting rid of me this easily."

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," she replied. "Now, bottoms up there dear."

Remus drank the potion, and before all of it could have hit his stomach, he fell backward into Sirius waiting hands. Grace slid off the couch and helped Sirius position Remus into a prone position, while Ellie grabbed the empty mug and began a cleansing spell on it, using an already prepared pouch she had waiting on the coffee table.

"Timer is going, Mama," Ainsley told her, and Ellie nodded. When she looked across the room, she could see Harry was now as white as a sheet, and Ginny had her right arm around his shoulders and her left one in his hands. As she looked at them, she was reminded of how she was with Sirius when they were young. They weren't much older than the pair when they began dating, she wondered how long it would be before Harry and Ginny were doing the same.

After all of the cleaning and comforting tasks were done, everyone sat and began their vigil. It felt like time had stood still, there was no movement in the room and the only sound was the ticking of the timer. Sirius knew not to say anything else to Ellie, he would simply twist his wedding ring every few minutes, to let her know that he was still with her.

After about ten minutes, Queen Maeve announced that Remus was well, and that there were no problems on the other side. He was however, having a very interesting conversation.

"Who is he talking to?" Grace asked.

"It's his story to tell," Maeve explained, and then she disappeared.

Ellie wasn't even sure how to respond to that, so she just looked at Sirius and shook her head.

Time continued to crawl, until the timer chimed that it had been fifteen minutes. With that, Ellie got up and went back to work.

* * *

The Potter-Black's all stood in the foyer of the Potter family home in England. This was Harry's house now, technically, but it wasn't like they were going to let him live alone at the ripe old age of fourteen. In fact, they wouldn't be living here at all, the Potter-Black's, the Lupin's and Ginny were all planning on moving back to the UK if everything went well today. The Lupin family had purchased a smaller house down the lane from the estate that Ellie had purchased through the goblins. Potter house would empty, until Harry was ready to live in it someday -- at least that was the plan.

Everyone was gathered here today to get dressed. The outfit that Ellie needed was housed in the closet here, as she'd only seen her mother wear it once. Harry was in his official Potter family Wizengamot robes, as was Sirius in his Black family ones. Ellie was wearing her dress that signified her as of the line of Queen Maeve, complete with a crown and a diadem. Her outfit was even more important than her plum Hightower robes. This proved that her lineage was older than the Ministry of Magic, and it demanded a level of respect that not even the Chief Warlock had.

Remus and Grace were dressed as well, both in new sets of professional robes. Ginny and Ainsley would be accompanying the group today. Ainsley wore a small tiara on her head, letting people know that she was the future of the line, as well as the Hightower crest, as she would be the one to take on the family seat in the future. Ginny wore a set of pretty green robes that made her look much more mature than her near thirteen years. Quinn was at Devon's house, with him there as her protection. She was too young to accompany them, and it was too dangerous to leave her without qualified supervision. Her future was still just a dark void. Ellie and Sirius had vowed that it would be the next problem that they tackled. The Lupin children had been dropped off in France to visit their grandmother this week.

"Is everyone ready?" Ellie asked as she straightened the bodice of the gown again. It was a much fussier dress than she would have ever picked out for herself, but it was THE gown that she had to wear.

"As much as we were when you asked us three minutes ago," Sirius told her. "Now, stop playing with the dress, you look beautiful and powerful in it. They are not going to know what hit them."

"Thank you, love. Do we have everything?" She asked as she pecked him on the cheek.

"It's all in here, as you talk, I will make sure that you have the things you need. We should be going, the Wizengamot goes into session in ten minutes. We don't want to arrive too early, but we also can't be late," he responded.

As arranged with Amelia and her friend, Kingsley, the family would be using a semi-private floo that lead to the Auror offices. From there, Kingsley would escort them down to the court room where the Wizengamot was meeting. Amelia would already be in place, but she knew that they were coming. Molly and Arthur would be there as well, but would not be able to greet their daughter until everything was over. Intimidation was part of the plan today.

Two by two, the family went through the floo, Grace taking Ginny, Remus taking Ainsley, Sirius taking Harry and then finally, Ellie going through on her own. She wasn't surprised to find Collinda and Agatha there waiting for her, talking with the rest of her family.

"You're ready," Agatha told her. "We've gone over this, and your argument is sound and quite reasonable. Just go and do what we've discussed. Don't worry, we'll be there to help you, should you need it." Ellie nodded at the reassurance. It was good to know that the historian of the princesses would be there to give her help and reference, if necessary.

"It's three minutes to ten, we should be on the move," Kingsley said in his booming baritone. The Lupin's took the girls with them, and Ellie moved to stand between her husband and her son. She wanted both of them to be treated with the respect and honor due to them as her consort and her child.

When they all stepped off the lift, there were whispers and staring looks. No one had seen any of them in years, and there was no rumor that they had returned. Ellie and Sirius had been voting by proxy since their move, and to have them appear today, in person took everyone by surprise. It was then that they realized that Ellie was dressed in her lineage clothing, and heads were bowed as she passed. Ellie took particular delight to see people who had tormented and teased her for all of the years that she was apart from Sirius having to lower their heads and eyes from them. Ellie couldn't help but to have a slight smirk on her face, which didn't escape her husband.

"Don't gloat," he whispered, "too much," he added with his own grin.

As they entered the courtroom, Remus and Grace took the girls over to where Molly and Arthur were waiting for them. Ginny sat between her father and Remus very quiet and stoic, and before Molly could start coddling her, Arthur laid and gentle hand on her lap and shook his head slightly, letting her know this wasn't the time.

The clock struck ten as Sirius, Ellie and Harry entered, and the entire courtroom stopped what they were doing and stared at the trio. Ellie walked to the center of the room, and stared at the raised seat of the Chief Warlock. Albus Dumbledore stared back at her. He'd never been forced to acquiesce to a descendant of Maeve before, but he knew that he must.

Ellie stood quietly, her head held high, and waited for the floor to be given to her, which she knew he would have to do as soon as the court was called to session. She quickly made eye contact with Amelia, who smiled at her friend. Ellie couldn't return it, but she did close and then open her eyes slowly, acknowledging the support of her companion in this small coup that was about to take place.

Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat. "As Chief Warlock, I call this session of the Wizengamot to order," he commanded and the whispering stopped, and people settled into their seats. No one was looking at the old man, they were all looking at the trio standing in the front of the crowd.

"As due to her lineage and as the direct descendant of Queen Maeve, the first in the line of royalty that protected and promoted witchcraft and wizardry in all of these islands that now make up the United Kingdom and Ireland, I welcome Eleanor Hightower Potter-Black. She is accompanied by her husband, Sirius James Black, head of the most ancient and noble house of Black and her," the old man stopped, let out a small sigh and then continued, "her son, Harry James Potter, head of the most ancient and noble house of Potter. Princess Eleanor, you have the floor," he said through almost clenched teeth.

"Thank you Chief Warlock Dumbledore," Ellie said with a poise and presence that no one was used to seeing from her. Sirius couldn't help but smile at his wife, she was truly living up to what was required of her, and he swelled with pride at being married to her. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot, I am here to tell you about threat to our way of life, nay, our very existence." There were murmurs in the courtroom, and Ellie let them die down before speaking.

"Nearly thirteen years ago, something happened, and Tom Riddle, the man who became the monster of Lord Voldemort; became a shell of himself. Many believed that he had been killed, but having seen the thing that he became on the night of March twenty-sixth, Nineteen Eighty-Three, I knew that wasn't the case," Ellie explained. There were protestations beginning to be heard in the courtroom, people who didn't want to believe that any part of Voldemort had survived. Ellie knew this would happen, and silently she pulled the memory from her mind and let it swirl in the basin that was in the center of the circular room. Sirius tapped it three times, and a three-dimensional loop of Ellie's memory from that night began to play. It only showed the small, whitish-grayish, shriveled body squirming on the ground near the cauldron; having chosen to leave the memories of Sirius trying to curse her out of public display of these memories. The memory also showed the Death Eaters that were there that night, fighting to protect the thing, and calling it "Master", "The Dark Lord" and "Voldemort".

The pair let the memory go on for a few more minutes, playing the loop a full three times. Sirius again tapped the basin and the memory floated back down. Ellie then raised her hand and pulled the memory back to her. Many were surprised to see her doing wandless magic. Ellie had done this display quite on purpose.

"We know that his closest followers believed that they had created a potion that would restore his body to him. As they held Harry and I, our captors were not afraid to blurt out their plans. It was with this understanding, and the imminent danger that both Harry and our daughter, Ainsley, were under that we chose to leave the U.K. and live in quiet obscurity. We feel compelled to return now, and alert everyone of what we have learned and to help our beloved homeland prepare for the conflict that is surely coming," Ellie explained. She wasn't mincing her words, or sugar-coating things. She had every intention of spelling this out, and hopefully getting the Wizengamot to begin to prepare.

"We kept our ears open, and maintained contacts throughout Europe, should Voldemort make his move. There was nothing until eighteen months ago, when we were called to Hogwarts because something was attacking young Ginevra Weasley," Ellie continued, and Ginny cringed at her mentor and second mother using her full name. "When we arrived, we found a diary that had been trying to seduce her, and take over her soul. The book had belonged to Tom Riddle as a student, and it had been slipped into the young woman's school supplies." As Ellie spoke, Sirius pulled the diary out, looking charred and deformed from the removal of the Horcrux from it, and held it high.

"As you can see, the diary has been damaged. It was mutilated when we removed a bit of Tom Riddle's soul from it. He had turned it into a Horcrux -- an inanimate object that contained a sentient part of the host soul. Tom Riddle had ripped his soul apart, and housed part of it in this diary. That part wanted to enslave Miss Weasley." Ellie stopped for a moment to let what she was saying sink in. She could see that there were questions brewing in several of the people. The most interesting look came from Lucius Malfoy, it was a mix of confidence and terror. Sirius was anxious to wipe the confidence from his face, and let him stew in his own stupidity. It was he that had given Ginny the diary.

"As horrifying as the knowledge that this item existed was, we were shocked to find out that there were more, many more of these Horcruxes," Ellie started. She went through one by one, explaining what they were and how they were destroyed. Finally, they got to the last one -- the bit that had been in her son. Doing her best to hold herself together, she explained how they had found out that Harry had a bit of old Voldy inside of him. She showed them the memory of giving Harry the potion, and the agonizing wait to be able to deliver the antidote. Sirius put a gentle hand on the small of Ellie's back to steady her as she watched; it was almost as if they were both reliving the awful day.

When the memory is over, Sirius removed the last item from the bag. It was a horrible thing to behold. Encased in an enchanted glass pot was the petrified remains of the last Horcrux, the one that had been in their son. It was dead, and then it was suspended in the essence of love, extracted from all of those who desperately loved Harry. There were sounds of shock and horror at the thing. Ellie raised her hands to quiet them down.

"I know that this is distressing and hard to see this, but we must move on from it. We need to prepare, because now that the man who was once Tom Riddle will know that his secret is out. We are here today to implore the Wizengamot to begin to take action. We must prepare. We must make sure that all of our world and the Muggle world is protected," Ellie said firmly.

An irritating cough-like sound came from within the plum robes, and Ellie looked over to her left and saw the round woman with a pink bow in her hair that looked awful with the robes. "Yes," Ellie acknowledged.

"How do we know that this is all true? How do we know this isn't just some strange delusion that your family has concocted? How do we know that you're not in league with Lord Voldemort?" The irritating woman asked, and Ellie's lips curled just a bit at the edges. She was actually thrilled with the questions.

"We aren't the only ones who have known about it. Since the night that my brother Jamie and his wife were murdered, there have been others who have known," Ellie responded.

"Oh, and who is it? Someone else who ran away, instead of staying within our borders?" Ellie wasn't surprised by the dig. She turned her head away from the woman, and made clear eye contact with Dumbledore. A wave of fear passed across his eyes without the rest of his face moving.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wizengamot, the Chief Warlock and Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, has known since the very beginning." There was a shocked silence in the courtroom, and the Potter-Black's, Lupin's and Amelia knew that the pressure was off them. He was going to have some serious explaining to do.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: Hey, about a week since the last chapter, that's got to make you happy! Enjoy the chapter, there are a lot of fun little moments in this chapter and remember, this is an alternate universe, so things can happen here that didn't happen in canon. Probably one more chapter before I start radiation. Enjoy, MNF

**Chapter 15:**

**The Tribulations and Adventures of Harry Potter-Black's first year at Hogwarts**

**September 1994:**

Ellie looked as nervous as an opossum crossing a busy road at night. Sirius was trying very hard to keep his wife calm, but it was nearly impossible. He knew that she hated the idea that the children would be going to Hogwarts, but it was part of their agreement with Albus Dumbledore. They had agreed that they would work together to find what was left of Voldemort and destroy it. There would be no more secrets. The agreement was reached, only under the conditions that Dumbledore would stop trying to take the children away. Reluctantly, as a trade off, Ellie and Sirius had agreed to try letting the children study at Hogwarts.

There were two things about this that worried Ellie. The first being she was unsure of the safety of the Hogwarts grounds. She had spoken with Professor Flitwick and he had done a above par job at warding the grounds; it was just that it wasn't the farm, or even the estate here inBritain, which were nearly impossible to find, and were excessively warded. The second thing that was worrying her, was that all three of them would be getting a substandard education. She knew that they were all far ahead of their classmates, Harry being in the position at the age of fourteen to take his NEWT's and be done with school. Instead, he would be in with other fourth years, Ginny back with her third years, even though in the year and a half that she was gone she had surpassed them all, and was ready for her OWL exams. The worst off was Ainsley, however, as she was considered a first year. A first year that was able to read cards nearly as well as her aunt and exceptionally fluent in Runes and Arithmancy. All of them were better at Defense, Potions and Astronomy than anyone else at the school. They were the also probably the only students at the school who were still celebrating the Old Faith and practicing the Old Magics. All of this put together spelled trouble for Ellie, and she was certain that the children would be home with her by the end of the calendar year. Sirius was hoping that she was wrong.

"Each of you will have a princess with you at all times, but only the three of you will be able to see them. Ailbhe will be with you Ainsley, Raichéal will be with you Ginny and Collinda will be with you Harry," Ellie explained. "Also, you have all been given permission to visit the founders. Your princesses know how to get in. It's also a great place to hide, should you need to."

"I also made each of you new maps, just like the ones that we'd made while we were at school," Sirius said smiling, remember the happy times that he'd had with his best friends and girlfriend while they were at school. "It will help each of you avoid danger."

"Papa, we've got it," Harry said, sounding irritated. "Can we please just get onto the train?"

Ellie started to quiver with emotion, as she nodded to her children and their dearest friend. She hugged each of them, and then Harry and Sirius stood looking at each other, almost as if a silent conversation was going on.

"I'll be fine, Papa," Harry said as he hugged his father. "I'll take care of the girls too." Sirius nodded against his son. They released one another and as soon as his arms were free, Ainsley threw herself into her father.

"Papa, I love you so much," she whimpered, clearly. "Promise me that you'll write to me?"

"Every day, my little girl," Sirius whispered to her, and after one last squeeze, let her go.

He then reached out for Ginny, and hugged her across the shoulders, sideways. "You be safe too."

"I will Mr. Sirius, I promise," she replied.

"We're still coming home for Mabon, right Mama," Ainsley asked, and Ellie nodded at her. The children loved the celebration of the Fall Equinox, and it was special to our family.

"Yes, we've gotten permission. The princesses will be bring to the estate when you are done with classes that day, so that we can celebrate together. They will then bring you back for classes the next day," Ellie explained, and they all smiled. Somewhere along the way, it was just assumed that Ginny would be with Harry and Ainsley.

Ellie and Sirius watched them each tug their trunks behind them, disappearing one by one onto the train. Ellie said nothing, fighting so hard to hold her tears in. Molly appeared shortly thereafter, all of her sons in tow. Ginny had spent a few weeks at home, but she flooed back to the estate to see Harry and Ainsley nearly every day. Her mother had agreed that she could stay overnight with the Potter-Black's before getting on the Hogwarts Express. Molly knew that there would be special protections and instructions for Ginny now, since she knew so much about Harry.

The boys said hello quickly, and then got onto the train. Ron was excited that Harry would be at school with him this year, hoping that he got into Gryffindor, so that they would be dorm mates. Molly hugged Ellie, saying nothing, knowing how hard this was for her dear friend. Ellie held onto Molly as her wall finally broke, and she began to cry. Sirius rubbed her back, just wanting to take her home, but knowing that they should wait until the train pulled away. Molly wondered how Ellie was able to do this, understanding that she was removing her children from their very safe and insulated enclave, and sending them into the unknown.

The three would have stayed that way, if it wasn't for a chilling voice from behind them, the greeting of "Oh, well, what do we have here?" sucking all of the warmth of love and friendship from the trio.

The voice was high-pitched and nasal, and carried the distinct sound of distain whenever it spoke. All of the friends knew who it was behind them, but the most tension from it was seen in Sirius face, while Ellie's was contorted in near disgust.

"Hello, cousin," the whine was heard again. Sirius turned around and faced his cousin, Narcissa, her husband and son. His stomach lurched, remembering that Harry and Draco were the same age, and would be in the same year. "I've seen so much of you in the _Prophet_ lately; but I had hoped that I wouldn't have to see you in person."

"Believe me, Narcissa, the feeling is mutual," Sirius practically sneered back. "Lucius, Draco," Sirius said, not really wanting to engage in conversation with his blood relations, but hating to be rude.

"I see you're still married to Princess Potter," Lucius said, thinking that he was saying something derogatory to her. Instead, Ellie was now emboldened by the nickname she hated as a child.

"You're certainly more ignorant that you used to be," Ellie said back, pushing down her feelings of sadness and separation, and instead feeling like she might like a little verbal battle. "If you'd been reading along with your wife, you'd certainly know that I am indeed, a princess. You know, the mind can only be confunded so many times, before things start to go," she finished, intimating at his ties to Voldemort.

"Don't talk to my father that way," the boy said with a sneer, and Sirius stared him down.

"I know that your mother has taught you better than that," he stated to Draco. "If nothing else, her Black family pride would have ensured that you have manners." Draco shrunk back, while Sirius wondered who had done what to the child to make him back down so quickly, for it certainly was not out of respect for Sirius.

"If you're here, that must mean that little rugrat of your brother's must be starting school," Narcissa spat at Ellie.

"Our son and elder daughter are starting today, since England is much safer for them now," Ellie responded with a snap. "Oh, and by the way, we know how the diary got into Ginny's things," she added in a whisper.

Before Lucius could answer, the five minute warning whistle from the train was heard, and the elder Malfoys moved their son to the train without saying as much as one word. Sirius sounded as if he had growled at them in his chest, while Ellie worked hard to push down her feelings of disgust at remembering how Lucius had looked at her when she was younger.

They waited for a few more minutes, until the train departed, in silence. When the _Express _ was out of sight, they bid goodbye to their friend and headed home. Ellie had an overwhelming sense of loss about her, being without her oldest two children for the first time. Sirius apparated them away from a narrow alley in London, back to their quiet estate.

Quinn was still in her lessons with the princesses, and then she was going over to work with Uncle Mus on Charms after lunch. It was a fairly quiet meal, and Sirius flooed over with his daughter and then flooed back home. He spent the rest of the afternoon in bed with his wife, helping her forget her sadness.

* * *

Harry and Ainsley were both overwhelmed at everything on the train ride. While they were far more proficient in magic than any of the others their ages, there were aspects of Wizarding life that neither had experience -- first and foremost being a refreshments trolley that only sold candy.

Ginny found them a cabin on the train, and they were quickly joined by her brother Ron. Harry was happy to see him as well. At least he had one friend, outside of his sister and Ginny. Shortly after, another girl with stringy blonde hair came in. Harry was intrigued by the way that she talked, thinking that if his Mama had been able to teach her, she would have brilliant things to share. Another girl entered, this one with dark brown, wavy hair. She looked oddly familiar, but Harry couldn't place her.

Upon her entrance, she hugged Ginny and when she said hello to Ron, he blushed, which Harry thought was hilarious. She turned to look at the Potter-Black kids, and furrowed her brow in thought.

"Hello," she said, thrusting her hand forward, "my name is Hermione. I don't mean to be impolite, but you look familiar to me." Harry raised his hand to shake hers, and then Ainsley did the same.

"Blimey, Hermione, that's Harry Potter. Well, it's Harry Potter-Black now, but he's the most famous wizard that's our age," Ron chastised her.

"It's not that, they both look familiar to me, like we've met somewhere, at some point," she said, sitting down next to Ainsley. "Have you ever traveled on the continent before?"

"We lived in Italy for the last eleven years," Ainsley explained. "We've also been all over Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and even one trip to America."

"Wow," Hermione responded. The Weasley's knew of their travels, and the other girl was staring off at the wall, which didn't seem to faze the others, but the Potter-Black's found it disconcerting. "That's it. I think that we met in the museum in Venice, like five years ago. We were trying to find that tree in the painting!"

"I remember you now," Ainsley said. "You had a lot to say."

"That sounds about right," Ron added, and Hermione reached over and swatted him.

The rest of their train ride was entertaining, as everyone got better acquainted with each other. By the time that the train stopped at the castle, Harry and Ainsley found that they had four friends, and had also seen Neville, who they remembered from a few family trips, which felt like forever ago.

* * *

The first two weeks of school had gone well, both Harry and Ainsley were sorted into Gryffindor, which was a relief for both of them, as both sets of their biological parents had been in the house, as had every other Potter as far back as anyone could remember.

The Potter-Black children often found themselves bored in classes. The only thing that they hadn't studied was Transfigurations, but they knew how to do the spells anyway, as they had learned so much other magic.

The dullest was history, where they both had tried to engage the ghost that was teaching, trying to bring up points of things that they knew on the subject, but he would just ramble on. Far and away though, the worst class was potions.

Upon arrival, the Professor for the class openly sneered at both of them, peppering them with questions that they both thankfully knew. He seemed to resent that they could brew potions with ease and accuracy. Harry had finally had enough one day, and the confrontation was disastrous for him. They had started the year off working on antidotes, which was not challenge at all for Harry, but he sat in the back, quietly working, often struggling to keep his mouth shut. Ron or Hermione often tapping him on the leg or arm to help him control his frustration.

The ruinous day started off with Professor Snape announcing that they would be working on the antidote for Lycanthropy. Harry knew that neither of the potions associated with the disease were actual antidotes. The _Wolfsbane_ was simply a treatment for the symptoms on the night of the full moon. The potion his Mama had created was a cure for the disease; if you were bitten, you had to wait until the first full moon cycle, and then you could be given the cure -- but you had to live with the disease first. It was his Mama's only regret about how the potion worked.

Professor Snape started to scribe the ingredients for the cure to Lycanthropy on the blackboard, when Harry noticed a mistake. He cleared his throat and raised his hand. The Professor turned around slowly, astounded that someone would interrupt him. His face turn hard when he realized who it was.

"Yes, Potter," he said drolly.

Harry chose to ignore the incorrect name, instead deciding to point out the error. "Sir, you've written down Dragonfly wings, when the potion needs Dragonfly eggs."

"I have always brewed it with Dragonfly wings," he said haughtily. "How would you know anyway?"

"Sir, I know that it's eggs, not wings; and I know because I have been brewing it since I was ten," Harry said defiantly.

"Really, and who would have taught you such a thing?" Snape sneered back.

"My Mama, who is the one who designed the potion, for my Uncle Remus," Harry returned with coldness.

"Potter, as far as I know, your mother is dead."

Harry clenched his fists, and spoke through clenched teeth. "Yes, my mother and father were murdered, but this potion was created by my Mama. Eleanor Hightower Potter-Black, which is also my last name. If you brew it that way, it won't do a darn thing. I hope that you haven't been giving anyone this useless potion." As soon as the words were out of Harry's mouth he knew that he'd said the wrong thing. The rage in the Professors eyes was enough to convince him.

His classmates from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had been listening to the exchange, and when Harry let his last comment rip, there was a collective hushed gasp in the room.

"Mr. Potter-BLACK," Snape nearly yelled back at Harry, "I will remind you that I am your Professor, and as such, you are to speak to me with respect. Just to see exactly what you would do, please come up here and demonstrate to the class how you claim the potion should be brewed, and then please see me after class."

Harry went forward confidently, looking at the supplies on the table. With a flick of his wand, he changed the wings to eggs and then started to brew the potion as he had learned from his Mama. He spoke slowly, just as his Mama had as she had taught him, explaining what each of the ingredients was there for. When it had brewed the correct amount of time, he siphoned off a small amount, and then summoned something from his room. The small burlap bag flew in, and Harry opened it, pulling a small item out.

"This is a werewolf tooth, I carry it in one of my protection pouches," he said as he held the tooth up. "If I have brewed this correctly, it should convert back to a human incisor." He used an eyedropper to transfer a few drops to the tooth, and the class was amazed as it did return to human form. With another wave of his wand, the potion evaporated, and all of the supplies were replaced. Harry pocketed the tooth, and walked back to his seat, feeling proud of what he'd just done, but knowing that he'd have hell to pay for it.

* * *

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Ainsley were all sitting in the fourth year boys dorm room with the large mirror out, talking with Mama and Papa.

"So I brewed the potion correctly," Harry continued his story. "After class, I went forward and he just...I don't know what's wrong with him, but it was awful. He gave me detention this Saturday, which is tryout day for the house Quidditch team."

"Harry, sport," Sirius said in a comforting voice. "We warned you before you went to school that it was going to be hard, especially with Professor Snape. He was bound to be upset at you and your sister, just because of who you are."

"But, why Papa?" Ainsley asked. "We haven't done anything to him."

"Sweetheart, we know you haven't," Ellie started, "it's just, there's a lot of history there. Remember that we told you that Papa and I went to school with Professor Snape?" The children all nodded, so she went on. "We weren't friends. Professor Snape knew your mother as a child Harry, but when she got to school, their friendship started to drift apart. He called her an ugly name one day, which ended everything."

"It didn't help that Lily became fast friends with James, Uncle Mus, Aunt Grace, Mama and I," Sirius continued. "He'd torment the girls, we'd torment him back. I'm not proud of those days, but we were kids..." he trailed off.

"Then in our fifth year, our Potions professor had us come up with our own potions. Professor Snape, Lily and I were the best students in the class, and he took it as a chance to prove that he was the best. Lily and I weren't nearly as serious about it, but we did wager on the winner would have to write the other's history parchment, because history was boring."

"Still is," Ron commented, and everyone laughed.

"I won the contest, which made Severus so upset. From then on, he's always tried...Harry this is probably more about me than you. I'm sorry that you're having to go through this, but I warned you that he was liable to be like this."

"I know, Mama," Harry said sadly. "It's just, I really wanted to try out for the house team."

"Harry, go and talk with Professor McGonagall, she already wanted to talk to the team captain about Ainsley, maybe you can both try out at the same time?" Ellie suggested and Harry nodded. She wasn't proud of the fact that she was suggesting special treatment for her children, but to be honest, they flew very well.

"Alright all of you, time to get to your studies," Sirius told them, and the quartet nodded. "Harry, I know it's hard but try to hold your tongue when you're dealing with Professor Snape. Don't give him the chance to make your life any worse than it is."

"Yes Papa," Harry added solemnly, "night Mama and Papa, I love you both."

"We love you too, son," Sirius replied.

"Goodnight Mr. Sirius, Miss Ellie," Ginny added.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. Goodnight Ron," Ellie added, and there was a grunt from another bed, as Ron had already moved on.

"You promise, we're coming home in a two days?" Ainsley asked.

"Yes, sweetie, you're still coming home. Now go on and get to work on your studies. There is no reason that you should get marked down on anything this year," Ellie reminded her daughter. "We love you very much."

"Love you too Mama, Papa," she answered and then touched the mirror and it went dark.

Back at the estate Ellie and Sirius looked at each other, and Ellie began to shake her head, "I'm not even going to say it," she answered her husband's silent question, and then got up to go and check on Quinn.

Meanwhile, back at the castle, Harry was still feeling badly about the exchange. Ron had gathered a few things up, as well as some biscuits he had stored somewhere, and was headed out the door. "Meeting 'Mione in the library, get your stuff and come along."

"I did all my work already, you go on, I want to do some reading," Harry said, thinking about some of the advanced history books that his Mama had sent back with him.

"Ginny, you coming?" he asked her next.

"Not right now, I'll see you later," she answered. Ron shrugged and left the room, followed by Ainsley who was smiling and muttering something under her breath. As the door to the dorm closed, Ginny got up and closed the curtains around Harry's bed and then charmed them to stay shut as well as keeping their conversation private. She knew that her best friend needed her right now.

"You've got to stop beating yourself up over this," she told him as she sat down on the far end of the bed. "It sounds like he deserved it."

"Yeah, but...Inny, I should have known better. The princesses are always reminding me that my temper would be the thing that gets me in trouble. I just proved them right," he replied.

"Then learn from this experience, and let it go." Ginny scooted herself up the bed, until she was sitting knee to knee with Harry. She grabbed his hands and held them tight. "I'm having a hard time being back, it's not like it was on the farm. Learning is harder here because we have to do things their way. I miss our lessons, I miss the way that we worked on things. I feel like we have too much free time here."

"I know, it's weird, everyone else is happy when they have a free period, but I think I should be doing something. I almost want to go out and talk with...who is the big guy again?"

"Hagrid."

"Yeah, I want to go and ask Hagrid if there are any farming tasks that he needs help with, just to keep myself busy. I've almost finished all of the books that Mama sent, glad I'm going home to get more to read."

"Harry, you've got to try and fit in a little more. How about if we work on it together, maybe we'll both make the Quidditch team. Then we could practice flying together. You can teach me that trick you learned last year, the quick diversion thing."

"Let's hope because that sounds good." Ginny reached out for Harry's hand and opened it up and placed a small kiss in the palm, and then wrapped his fingers around it. It was the same thing they had been doing since before either of them could remember. This time, however, it felt different. There was a weird reaction in Harry's belly, like a funny tingling. Harry wasn't sure what it was.

Harry reached over and took Ginny's hand gently, opening it like a flower. He was amazed at how soft her skin was as his lips ghosted across her palm. As he was closing it, the same tingling came again, this time stronger. Harry was shocked however, when Ginny hugged him, and he felt his pants starting to get tight. It was something that had only started happening in the last year or so, and he'd talked with Papa about why, and he had explained it all; but this was the first time that it happened when he was around his Inny.

He would definitely talk to Papa about it while he was home, but right now, he liked how his arms felt around his Inny.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: This chapter is a little shorter, but it was a good stopping place. There are only four chapters after this, and then it will be over. I am hoping that I'll be on a more regular writing schedule from now on, I've started the radiation, and while I am exhausted, it isn't as bad as I thought -- but it's not a picnic either. Enjoy, and for all you H/G shippers, this is a chapter for you. It's dedicated to my amazing beta, HGRH35 because she's the bomb and quick as lighting in getting things back to me. Peace, MNF**

**Chapter 16:**

**Love all around**

**February 1, 1995**

Harry had been working out a plan for today for weeks, months really. It was different being here with Ginny than it was living at the farm. There, they always had an adult around, or within earshot; but at Hogwarts, there were hours of unsupervised time, time that they could be alone.

They ate their meals together, usually with Hermione, Ron and Ainsley and someone from the house. Ginny and Harry usually studied together, even though Ron and Hermione insisted that they be with them. Sometimes Harry got the feeling that Hermione was envious of how much we knew. He wanted to tell her if she had to know what they know and why, he doubted that she would feel the same way.

We were all on the house team. Ginny and Ainsley were chasers, I was the seeker and Ron was the keeper. Practice was fun with them, and when you threw in the team captain, Katie Bell and the twins as the beaters, well, they were a tough team to beat.

The best, however, were the hours that Ginny and Harry would spend alone. They walked around the lake, or down to visit Hagrid and the unicorn herd. Sometimes they would just hide in the boys dorm, pull the curtains around the bed, secure them and just lay there and talk. Harry really liked it when they did this, and accepted that when they did, his trousers were just going to be tight. Papa and Harry had discussed this at length, and he decided that he very much wanted to court Ginny. Tonight he would ask her.

Harry had approached her about meeting him on the Astronomy tower after supper. He had a few gifts for her, and wanted to show her some constellations. It was a little chilly up here, but he could charm them both, as well as the blanket that he'd brought. Harry had managed to shrink everything and stuff it into his robes, and then headed up right after supper was over. He'd asked her to give him ten minutes, and then come up.

Most of their classmates didn't celebrate the Old Faith, so Harry knew that there wouldn't be many up here tonight. Imblog or Candlemas was the day for love. Mama and Papa were adamant about celebrating it together, every year, giving each other a small gift, weaving the corn husk crosses, having the ceremonial meal. Harry thought that his parents, the ones that he had now and the ones that had given birth to him, were open about how much love they had, for each other, and for their children. Aunt Grace and Uncle Mus were in love too, but Uncle Mus was much more quiet about it.

Harry gently spread the blanket out, put out the candles and lit them, charming them not to blow out. He took out the container of Blackberry tea and the two china cups that he'd had transfigured this afternoon. He also took out the Poppyseed cakes that Mama had made for him and sent by owl today. She had also sent a note telling him how proud she was, but not to take it too far. She will always be overprotective about everything, he assumed. Finally, he took out the bouquet of violets and daisies, ready to give them to her when she got here. He left the last little present in his pocket, giving it to her after he'd asked her to be his girlfriend and hopefully, finally snog her. Harry admitted in his head that he had been dreaming about snogging her, a lot, lately.

Moments later, Ginny arrived. Her hair seemed to glow like a fiery ring around her head in the candlelight, and she had what Harry thought was the most beautiful smile on her face.

"Harry, what is all of this?" she asked, half recognizing it, and half wondering if it was really a celebration of Candlemas for her. They spent so much time together, often lying in his bed, but he never did anything further. Ginny had resolved that if Harry didn't make a move soon, she was going to kiss him first. She'd had enough waiting. Every time that they were close, she had funny little butterflies in her stomach, which she liked a whole lot. By the looks of things, this could be Harry's big move.

"Um, I, uh...Happy Candlemas Ginny," he stuttered out, and Ginny couldn't help but smile. She wanted so to put him at ease, there was no way that she was going to say no, but she couldn't how to make this easier on him. "These are for you," he added, sort of shoving a bunch of flowers at her. Harry then wiped his palms on his trousers. "Would you like to have a seat? I've charmed it to be warm, and I can put the charm on you too, if you'd like," he just stammered on. Ginny looked down at the daisies and violets and Harry standing there looking so expectant, so she took charge of the situation and took the few steps to be standing in front of him.

Harry had started to grow a lot recently, and while he wasn't quite as tall as Ron, he was close. He seemed to be somewhat lanky, much like his Papa, which Ginny knew couldn't be the case, as they weren't actually related; but it seemed like they were. She'd also begun to see some similar features to his Mama, which at least made sense, since she was his aunt. When Ginny reached him, she wrapped her arm around his neck, while the other held her flowers and she pushed his head down to hers. She had never kissed a boy before, but she knew what she wanted.

The kiss started off soft, Harry being completely surprised by it, but as soon as he figured out what was going on, his hands went to her waist and he pulled her taut against him. Ginny dropped the flowers and reached around under his arm to hold him to her, her other hand now playing with his hair.

Before she could register what was happening, his tongue was gently brushing against hers, and Ginny thought that she could fly away. Harry was amazed, this had been so much easier than he'd anticipated. He smiled against her lips, believing that she would indeed say yes when he asked her if it was okay to court her. When their lungs were burning for the need of air, and their limbs all felt like jelly, Harry pulled her down onto the blanket, never letting her go.

"That was...amazing," he finally just cooed at her.

"That it was," Ginny replied. "So much better than my dreams."

Harry looked at her surprised. "You've been dreaming about this too? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know," Ginny blushed, "I just figured it would happen when the time was right. I mean really, you've been kissing me since I was a baby." They both laughed at the way they were when they were little, and the quiet traditions that they still carried on when they had to part, kissing each other's hands.

"Hands only, Ginny," Harry said as his hand ran up and down her back, while the other one was holding her tight. Ginny was playing with his crazy hair again. "I like what we just did a whole lot more."

"So did I, and I think that we should do more of it," Ginny purred before she pulled her head to his.

"Wait, wait, I have one question before we do. Ginny would you be my girlfriend and allow me to court you?" Harry asked very formally. She didn't answer with words, but let her tongue seeking entrance into his mouth be her non-verbal response.

* * *

At the Potter Estate in England, another sort of celebration was taking place. Ellie and Sirius were having a larger celebration than usual to celebrate Candlemas this year. Remus and Grace and their children, Andy and Rachel were with them, as were Amelia, Devon and his wife and their youngest, Owen and Molly and Arthur. The guests were watching their hosts very carefully. All of them were used to Sirius and Ellie being affectionate, but tonight, he was quite protective of her as well. They were all wondering what was going on.

The couple brought out the traditional after dinner items for Candlemas, Blackberry Tea and Poppyseed cakes; but with it was a fine bottle of Elf-made wine and goblets. Ellie poured tea and Sirius poured a small amount of the wine into the glasses for the adults, all of them except one for Ellie. This made everyone else so much more suspicious. Ellie would blush when she looked at Sirius, and smile with happiness that reached her eyes.

"Okay you two, spill the beans," Grace finally commanded. Again, the couple looked at each other, and then Ellie tipped her head, giving Sirius the "go ahead" so to speak. He lifted his glass, and everyone followed suit.

"As many of you know, Ellie and I had given up hope after we lost our sons before they were born. Several years ago, we decided that we were going to stop trying. We are happy to announce that we are three months pregnant, and it is confirmed to be a son. So will you join with me in toasting the good fortune of love and the blessings of the Goddess on the pregnancy and our child," Sirius announced, and as he finished, Grace was up hugging him and then screaming and nearly tackling Ellie. They both fell over onto the couch, laughing.

"It's been like ten years that you've been trying," Remus remarked. "Wait, I thought that you weren't trying anymore?"

"Miracles happen, especially when you've done a little too much imbibing as you prepare for Samhain," he confessed. The room was joyously happy, but Remus could see little bits of concern behind Ellie's eyes when she didn't think that anyone was looking.

Quinn crawled up in her Mama's lap and lifted her shirt, putting her face to her Mama's tummy. "Hello, little brother, this is your sister, Quinn. I can't wait for you to get here, so that I won't be the baby anymore. I'll get to FINALLY be a big girl," she stated. At nine she didn't understand why she wasn't at school yet, since she knew that she was smart enough. It bothered her to no end.

"Quinney," Sirius said as he picked up his youngest daughter and flung her over his shoulder, so it looked like she was flying, "you will always be my sprite, no matter how old you get," he promised her and then brought her into a cradle hold and rubbed his face into her belly making her laugh.

"Wait," she said, holding up her still slightly childhood chubby hand, "do I know something before Harry and Ainsley?" Her question was hopeful. Quinn always felt that she knew things last, to know something this big first would just be the icing on the cake.

"We're going to tell them tomorrow, so yes, you know first," her Papa replied and Quinn finagled herself up so that she was hugging her Daddy around his neck, her legs wrapped around his torso.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she cheered over and over; which made the adults all laugh.

The merriment went on for a while longer, but slowly the party began to wind down. They were all quite surprised when the Hogwarts mirror began to vibrate on the wall, and they were more surprised when they saw Hermione's face staring back at them.

"Hermione, what are you doing on the mirror," Ellie sort of barked at her, much harsher than she meant to be, but knowing if it wasn't one of the three that had lived here, something must have happened.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Potter-Black, but there's something very wrong with Ainsley," she stated sounding nervous, and before anyone could ask another question, the young witch continued. "She was reading her Tarot cards, I think she said that it was for her little sister, anyway, she only got seven cards down and she started mumbling the same thing over and over.

"Hold on Hermione, we're coming over, the Headmaster be damned," Ellie said. She wondered where the Princess protection was, but she didn't have time to worry about this now. "Remus, can Quinney stay with you? We need Grace to come and read what Ainsley saw."

"Of course," Remus said. All of their friends remarked that they were staying right where they were, until they understood what was going on. Sirius smiled at the faithfulness of these people, the family that they had adopted, since theirs were gone.

"Keira," Ellie yelled and the Princess was immediately with them, "we need to get to Hogwarts now. Ainsley is in trouble."

"We know, sister. Raichéal is already with her and Collinda has brought Harry and Ginny to her side," Keira responded and then the trio of adults were gone with their guide. They landed right in the middle of the Hogwarts common room, which would have made Ellie and Sirius smile if the situation wasn't so dire.

The others had laid Ainsley down on the couch closest to the fire, and Ginny was at her head, running a cold compress across it. Harry was kneeling next to her, holding her hand, asking her to wake up. Hermione had a quill and parchment and appeared to transcribing what it was that Ainsley was muttering. When Harry saw his parents he got up, letting his Mama and Papa take over the comforting roles.

"I'm glad that you're here. Ron went to go and get Professor McGonagall," he told them.

"Why not the divination teacher?" Ellie asked, knowing that it was usually another person with the sight that was able to pull a fellow seer out of a vision.

"She's um..." Hermione started, but Ginny cut in.

"She isn't very good, and she drinks a fair amount, and most of her prophesies tend to be wrong. Miss Grace will have more luck." Upon their arrival, Grace had gone to look at the cards, and she had an ashen pallor to her now. Grace went to Ainsley's head and Ginny stepped aside.

"Ainsley, it's Aunt Grace, I'm going to try and see what you're seeing, and then we're going to both come back to the terrestrial world together, okay sweetheart?" Grace laid her hands on the young girls head and then started the incantation: "One mind to another mind, one spirit to another spirit, graces above and graces below, let me see the vision that has hold of my dear sister seer now."

Grace closed her eyes, and her head lolled back on her neck, and everyone knew that Grace had entered the vision. She was only in for a minute or so, when her face began to contort in anger and fear. They then watched as Grace struggled to pull her head upright and began yelling.

"Go away!

You are but a vision of a possible future, but one that may not come true.

It doesn't matter if you originated today, or days past, I command you to be gone.

You are only a vision.

I call it out, lead it out, speak it out!

I call it gone, lead it gone, speak it gone!

I call it vanished, I lead it vanished, I speak it vanished.

Through this spell, from my limbs and bones, my flesh and blood,

I vanish you for you are only a vision, and I am reality.

I vanish the sight, I vanish the pain, I vanish the suffering!"

Ainsley's eyes began to flutter, and she was happy to look up into the eyes of her Mama. Sirius rushed to Grace's side, and helped Harry move her to a chair, as she looked completely exhausted. Ginny flicked her wand, and quickly two phials flew down the stairs to them.

"Here, Miss Grace, these are _replenishing _and _blood strengthening_ potions. I thought you might need them," Ginny explained and Sirius smiled at her quick thinking.

"You are quite right child. You've learned you lessons well."

Ellie was still trying to quiet her daughter, who was sobbing uncontrollably when Professor McGonagall blew into the room, followed closely by Ron. She didn't seem in the least bit surprised to see Ellie and Sirius there.

"How is she?" the Professor asked Ellie.

"Weak and quite shaken up. I think that she should see the school nurse, unless you just want us to treat her?" Ellie explained.

"Before we make that decision, I believe that we need to know what it was that she saw," Minerva answered back calmly. She suspected that this wasn't a matter for the school to be dealing with, and instead one for her family.

"Hermione, what was she saying?" Ellie asked, knowing that the young woman had been acting as a scribe.

"She repeated the same thing over and over: 'They are going to take her, thinking that she can do what the foretold can, but she can't and they will burn her," she stopped and shuddered at the idea, "while she still breathes."

There was a stillness in the room, no one wanted to move or breathe even, because that would mean that this was real. The Death Eaters were going to try and use Quinn against her sister and brother, and eventually kill her. Ellie understood why Ainsley was so upset by the vision, and if it had not been for Grace, she might still be trapped by the horror of the situation.

"Ellie, Sirius, I think that we all know that this is a matter for you to deal with. Poppy could provide her with potions and allow her to sleep in the infirmary, but I think that she would heal better at home. Go on, take them all with you, Ron and Hermione included, I will give them all excuses for the rest of the week. I do however, expect all of you to keep up with your lessons, which I will send along in the morning and you are expected at your first class on Monday. Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am" several of the students replied.

They all worked quickly to gather things together. Ginny offered to pack Ainsley's bag and before leaving to run up to the girls dorm, she kissed Harry. The adults all smiled knowingly, but Ron got quite upset. "What was that? Why is she snogging him?"

"Ronald, they're sweet on each other, have been for a long time. About time one of them did something about it, I was going to just shove the two of you into a broom closet if you didn't admit it soon. By the way, Harry, you have wonderful taste in jewelry. I very much like the necklace you picked out," Hermione explained. Ginny and Hermione left with their heads pressed together and giggling, while Harry dragged Ron away, still in shock.

"I take it she said yes," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Was there any doubt?" Ellie responded, and even Ainsley and Grace had a little laugh at the situation. It was nice that there was something to break the heaviness of what they'd just learned.

Just before they left, Sirius carefully stacked the cards Ainsley had out on the table and slid them into one pocket and then put the rest of her deck into the other. When Grace had her strength back, he knew that she'd want to review them.

Within a half an hour of arriving, the whole Potter-Black family, Grace, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were gone from the castle. Professor McGonagall then marched up to the Headmaster's office and hold him what had happened, and what she had done. He was livid at her.

"Minerva, how could you? This would have been the perfect time to talk with them about joining the Order. Giving them the extra layer of protection that they could use," he berated her.

"Albus, they're better protected than what the Order could give them. Not to mention, I feel quite assured that there is absolutely no way that Ellie would ever join, not after what happened to those she loved who joined you in the first war. You're fighting the wrong battle Albus, and it's going to make you pay dearly in the end." Minerva turned on her heel and left the Headmaster alone to chew on that thought. She made a little disgusted sound as she left the stairs that lead to his office and shook her head at how narrow his view had become.


	17. Chapter 17

**I know, I know, it's a rapid update. I'm really trying to get this story done, since I promised to put my new story on the back burner until this one was done. This one is a roller coaster ride, and it might spur some tears in those who are effected by angst. Just so that you have the timing right for the last third of this chapter, it occurs on September 21, 1995 or _Mabon_ the celebration of the Fall Equinox -- the day that is said to commemorate the strengthening of relationships. Enjoy, I guess. MNF**

**Chapter 17:**

**Cards, Baby, Blood**

**March 21, 1995**

It had been six weeks since Ainsley's trance and the first glimpse of Quinn's future. Ellie had been livid that the children had returned to school as agreed, and didn't speak or share a bed with her husband for nearly two weeks. She was grumpy, irritable, still suffering from lingering morning sickness and the baby had chosen to lay oddly and it was pinching nerves in her back. No matter how many spells Grace and Remus put on her, they only lasted a little while, and then she was in pain again.

Sirius finally broke through her angry wall when he hired a specially trained Swiss pregnancy masseuse to come and work on her back daily. She was, however, still terrified for her youngest daughter's health and safety, and the safe delivery of their new son.

Grace tried trances, runic readings, tea leaves, crystal balls, even consulting sages on three continents -- but no one could bring about any clear readings on Quinn. She finally turned back to her cards on Eostara, knowing that on the Equinox the lines between the terrestrial and spirit worlds were thinner.

She sat across from Ellie and Sirius; together they had decided that a basic Yes/No, five card spread was the way to go. Keep the answers as simple as possible. Ellie sat with her hands on her growing bump -- third pregnancy and her advancing age made her show much earlier than she had when she was in her early twenties and pregnant with Ainsley or Quinn. Everything traveled south as you aged.

Ellie was tense as she sat down. This morning, several of the princesses had done a knot tying ceremony to safeguard her son, while in-utero. Even with the Healers' assurances and the princesses' protection, Ellie wasn't sure she could live through losing another baby. The only thing she could imagine that would be more painful would be losing one of her other children, the ones that she'd had years with; but she wasn't sure that it was necessarily true.

"Ellie, if this is too much, or if you're too tired from this morning, I can do this with Sirius alone," Grace suggested, sensing the pain in her friend.

"No, I need to do this," Ellie replied.

"Lolly, honey, you know that too much stress..." Sirius started.

"Don't finish that sentence," she said sternly, and the discussion was quickly dropped.

"Okay, what's the first question?" Grace asked as she shuffled the deck.

"Is the vision set?" Ellie answered, having thought long and hard about how she wanted to start this. "If it is, well...I want it to be in flux still, that way we might be able to save Quinney's life."

Grace shuffled the cards again, with the question in her mind. Ellie and Sirius watched as the draw came up. All of the future and present cards came up reversed, while the past was laid correctly before the dealer's hands. Grace set the deck aside and read the card, and then sighed in relief. "The answer is No. It would appear that the vision is not set."

"Praise the goddess, the thought of my little girl burning..." Ellie said as she slumped against her husband, some of the constant pressure in her body melting away.

"I kno, my Lolly, it's a good thing," Sirius answered with his lips on her temple.

"Okay, so what should we ask next?" Grace asked as she cleared the hand.

"Ask if the future can still be changed. The vision is one thing, I want to know that we're not going to end up with the same outcome, just by some other means," he explained and both of the woman nodded.

Grace closed her eyes and began to shuffle. Again, she laid down the cards, some were facing her and some were facing the couple. The both knew enough about Tarot at this point to know they wanted less facing them than facing Grace. When all five were down, the seers gentle hands ran over the tattered cards of her well–used deck. "This is a strong reading," she said, "and the answer is Yes, the future can still be changed. See here, where these cards are reversed?" she asked, pointing at the two far ones. "Not only are they reversed, but they cancel each other out. I don't know how you could be prudent and extravagant."

The trio chuckled for the first time, probably for the first time all day, at the conflict between the two.

"Well, I suppose you could be prudently extravagant, like eating only one bit of a whole box of chocolates, but who do you know that eats just a little piece? Certainly not Lolly here," Sirius joked.

"I would be careful there, darling, I seem to remember you eating your fair share as well," she replied, referring to the huge box of mixed chocolates from Honeydukes that he had brought her last week.

"Okay you two, you can spat and then go make up when we're done here," Grace teasingly reprimanded them. The trio again had a good chuckle, and then got back to work. "What's the next question?"

"I need to know if Quinn will be kidnapped? If it's still there, if that's still something that could happen, we need to take her away from here, maybe back to Italy, or even have her live with the princesses until we know it's safe," Ellie hypothesized.

"You're due to have the baby this summer, about which of all of his siblings, Quinn seems the most excited. Do you really think that you can take her away from that?" Sirius posed and Ellie shook her head.

"Before we go debating where Quinn should live, let's find out if the kidnapping is still set, or if it too can change. Will Quinn be kidnapped?" Grace asked, and then began dealing. Ellie figured out the answer before Grace had to say anything. The two women's eyes met, and Ellie's only response was to put her hand over her mouth, and lean her elbow onto the table, while silent tears fell. Sirius wrapped his arm around her.

"I think maybe we should be done now, please Grace," he suggested, and Grace began to clear the cards, but Ellie reached across the table, placing her hand upon her friend's.

"No, I need to know the rest of the answers, you know as well as I, we're not done," she uttered with determination in her voice. "Will Quinn die?"

There was no more communication, Grace just shook her head and started to deal the cards. Ellie kept her eyes closed, her mouth uttering a quiet prayer to the goddess for the safety of her child.

"You can breathe again there, sweetheart, the answer is no. Quinney won't die," Sirius told her and she turned and threw her arms around her husband.

"Oh thank goodness, I couldn't bear to lose..." and with that the dam of emotions that Ellie had been holding in all day broke and she began to sob in his arms. Sirius lifted her now contracted frame and carried her up to their bedroom.

Grace watched them leave, just as her own husband entered the room.

"Good news or bad?" he asked her as he knelt next to her and gently kissed her.

"Mostly good, Quinn being kidnapped is still on the table, but the reading was better than we'd expected. How are my babies?" Grace asked.

"Filling themselves up on homemade ice cream before they start their Herbology lesson. Andy is determined to try and keep up with Quinn, forgetting that she's nearly three years older. It's quite funny actually, seeing as he can't really write yet, at least not well. His notes are mostly in picture form, but they're accurate. You want to see them before Princess Edna starts with them?"

"Give me a minute, I need to clean up," she replied, and with another, slightly more passionate kiss, Remus went to check on the children out on the lawn. Grace began to shuffle the deck again, and laid out the spread. She stared at it for a long time, a single tear falling down her cheek. Laying her head down on the table and covering it with her arms, she sighed.

"Shit, one of us is going to die."

* * *

Spring turned to summer, and as it did, Ellie became less and less comfortable. At least when she was pregnant with the girls, she was fairly early in her pregnancies in the heat of the summer. This time, she was really pregnant in the stickiest and warmest season of the year. It gave her a whole new respect for both Lily and Molly who had delivered children in the sweltering oven of July and August.

As soon as the children were home for the summer, the entire family took off for their home in Italy, taking Hermione and Ron with them. The three who had been taught by the family very happily went back to their six day a week study program, focusing on the classes that they considered substandard at Hogwarts -- which was nearly everything, save Transfiguration and Charms -- where their professors saw just how far ahead they were and gave them extra work to supplement the school curriculum. Hermione drank in the extra school work, Ron loathed it. He was much more interested in the animals and Astronomy, so he tended to spend his time with Remus during the day and Sirius at night. He did join in for the Defense/Combat lessons, even though he was embarrassed to continually get beaten by a dead princess.

Hermione often had to run interference for Harry and Ginny, so that they could have time alone, which also provided her with alone time with Ron. The only ones not happy about it were the three youngest -- Quinn, Andy and Rachel. They felt as if the oldest four were ignoring them. Thankfully, Ainsley arranged activities surrounding the three of them and herself in the moments of free time. Ellie and Grace had begun to comment on it, since she seemed to have a letter arrive weekly, through Amelia, from a so–far secret pen pal back in England. Sirius wasn't sure he was ready for his twelve year old daughter to have someone smitten with her, but she promised her father that it would be alright, and she would always be his little princess.

A five day trip to the southern beaches of Italy was taken, and while it was pleasant enough, Ellie hated being that uncomfortable and being so huge that she was quite stuffed in her own clothing. She was relieved when they arrived back home.

A full seven days after her due date, the family welcomed John Alphard Potter-Black into this world. Given the middle name of their closest friend, Remus as his first name and the first name of Sirius' favorite uncle as his middle, he was cherished and coddled from the moment that he was born. The three older girls cheerfully helped with the daily chores that were a part of life when there was a newborn in the house, and Harry was mesmerized by his little brother; but none cared for the baby like his big sister, Quinn. Little John seemed to recognize her voice from the moment that he was born, which made sense, since Quinn had read to her mama's tummy nightly. There was a bond between the two that almost made their parents jealous -- but not quite, for just as John knew his sister, he was well aware of who his mother and father were.

By the time that the older ones left to go to school, John had turned into a perfect, miniature of his father. Dark wavy locks, soft grey eyes that could probe into your soul, and a laugh that was nearly too hearty to be that of an infant. The only sign of his mother in him was his small button nose, for which Sirius was thankful, instead of having to live with the pronounced Black nose that he too had somehow escaped.

Ellie still didn't want to send the children back to Hogwarts, but this year, Remus would be there as their Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. The whole Lupin family was moving onto the campus, which did quell the nerves of the Potter-Black children's mother. It also made her feel better that when Quinn needed to go for lessons, she'd have the extra protections of all of the princesses that were there, as well as the safety of the Founders' Room, should it be needed.

Grace, however, still carried with her the knowledge that someone would die, but she couldn't get a read on who it was. She was hoping that by moving into the castle, she wasn't setting her family up for disaster.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the Potter-Black/Lupin/Weasley clan, as they were now jokingly calling themselves, something had happened eleven days before, in a graveyard in a far away town. After years of carrying and caring for the slithering creature that was once Voldemort, the Rowle's -- Thornfin and Raleigh -- had gathered all of the items that were needed to make this work. The most important was the one that they had held onto for the longest time. Twelve years time in fact, since Raleigh had carved that rune into the little whelping child's chest. In stasis for all of these years, the small phial of Harry's blood had been with her always, carefully protected -- with her life if it had been necessary.

Her father stoked the fire beneath the cauldron, and Raleigh had started the incantation. One by one she added the ingredients, finally cutting off her own hand and throwing it into the bubbling cauldron, and lastly the phial that she had gotten all those years ago. She had done the work, she deserved to be part of the inner circle now. She deserved to be recognized for her devotion. She longed to free her sister and then go after the man that had destroyed her. Who else's life she destroyed along the way didn't matter to her anymore.

The Dark Lord emerged with his body intact, and immediately thanked the Rowle family for their devotion, rewarding Raleigh with a new hand as well as her own Dark Mark. And then he paused, and looked around. He closed his eyes and the pair watched as his eyeballs frantically searched for something behind his lids. Not happy with his search, Voldemort threw his head back and screamed.

"Someone has been meddling where they didn't belong," he bellowed. He grabbed the arm containing the newly pressed Dark Mark on the young woman's arm and grabbed her wand and pointed it at the Mark. Soon the clearing in the cemetery was filled with his Death Eaters.

"Who? Who took them? All of them? They're gone!" he screamed.

"Sir, I believe what you're looking for," Lucius Malfoy answered quite meekly, "were discovered by the Princess Potter woman. Black's concubine."

"True, but tell him how the whole thing started Lucius," Thornfin retorted.

There was a painful silence, before Voldemort stood before Malfoy, nearly towering over him while the younger man cowered.

"Tell me, my faithful servant, or I will make you," the words did not come out as a compliment, but rather a sneer. No one in the clearing doubted his threat.

"Sir, I, um..." Lucius hesitated, and waited too long. Voldemort raised his wand and utter the curse and Lucius fell to the ground in pain. When the Dark Lord released him, he collapsed, trying to catch his breath.

"The next time you won't catch your breath. Now tell me what you've done."

"Sir, I gave the Weasley girl your diary, and somehow, that wench figured out what it was and..." there was another flick of Voldemort's wand and Lucius Malfoy just lay down on the ground, eyes blankly staring up at the sky.

"Does anyone else have anything to confess?" Voldemort asked, and the rest of his minions just stared at the dead body in front of them, afraid to say anything.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Two things: First, completely unrelated to the story, I got back my post-radiation scan results on Thursday, and my doctor thinks that they got all of the cancer that was left with the radiation, and that it has reacted; so I am considered cancer-free! :D Not in remission or cured yet, but I'll take cancer-free. Second, this is about the story, as you read the chapter, keep in mind the whole thing takes place in a matter of hours. Thanks, MNF (Amy)**

**Chapter 18:**

**Beacon in the Night**

**October 31, 1995**

"This isn't fair, Mama!" Quinn whined to her parents. Ellie and Sirius looked at each other again, and her shoulders sagged; this argument wasn't helping her headache caused by exhaustion and the trials of having a nearly three month old child. Johnny getting close to giving his parents at least six hours of sleep a night, but not quite there. Sirius would stay up later, doing Astronomy lessons with the children and then give him a bottle and put him down for the night, and then Ellie would awaken early in the morning and feed him right away, then proceeding to work on breakfast for her husband and youngest daughter. However, fighting with Quinn about how she was going to celebrate Samhain and Halloween was making her already aching head hurt more.

Since the Lupin's were living at Hogwarts, she would be going there to meet Aunt Grace, Andy and Rachel to go and visit Miss Amelia and Mr. Devon at work, and then over to the Weasley's before returning to have some quiet family time to do their Samhain rituals before being able to go and visit the rest of the Hogwarts teachers to "Trick and Treat" before the Halloween feast for the students. To Ellie and Sirius it seemed a fair compromise, but to Quinn it was terribly cruel that she couldn't go to Diagon Alley like every other Wizarding child.

"Quinn Amelia, it's your choice to be unhappy about this or not," Ellie stated, "but this is how it's going to be. Period." The nearly ten year old stomped out of the room, grumbling something. Her parents knew that it was hard on her, she was basically a prisoner in her own home; but it was necessary. The less exposure to the Wizarding world, the less likely that she could be taken.

Sirius brought Johnny over to Ellie, and after he had placed their son in her arms, he sat down, wrapping his own sinewy limb around her.

"You know, I think that you're enamored with him," he teased.

"I was with all of our children when they were babies, even Harry. Johnny's just so...he's a perfect little version of you, and he's such a sweet child, how could I not be enamored with him?"

They sat there for a minute, watching their son bat at his mother's loose blonde curls and then try and latch on, even through her blouse and sweater.

"Looks like someone is hungry there," Sirius said even as Ellie was opening her clothes to let the little boy feed. "Do you need a blanket or something?"

"That would be good, it's a little chilly otherwise," she responded.

"I could keep you warm, my hand can just slip under there and ..."

"Sirius James Potter-Black, our son is feeding! How can you turn that into something erotic?"

"Talent I guess." Ellie just shook her head at him and summoned the blanket from the back of one of the chairs across the sitting room from them. A quietness covered them, and neither chose to break it for a long time. It wasn't until Johnny was done eating and Sirius had taken him to lay him in his bassinet near the fireplace that Ellie finally said something.

"It feels...it's like there's something that we're missing out there...or is it just me?"

"It's not just you, Lolly. It's been too quiet, too normal. Even Dumbledore hasn't sent us any pestering parchments as of late, and Harry's gone like three weeks without getting detention, even from Snape. Things seem too good. Maybe the future has changed again? Should we ask Grace to do another reading?"

Ellie shook her head no. "She checks every few days, and she said that nothing's changed."

"Oh," Sirius answered bluntly.

"We have to stop this. We have to live, cautiously albeit, but we need to live. Now, I am going to catch a nap before we have to get these two dressed up to the Ministry and then to the Weasley's and then to the castle. Molly had made the costume that Johnny is going to wear for Ginny when she was a baby," Ellie said, almost sounding bright and happy.

"We're not dressing him up like a butterfly or something?" Sirius said, sounding concerned about the "manhood" for his nine week old son.

"No," Ellie scoffed at him. "It's a carrot. It was quite cute on Ginny with her little tuft of red hair peeking out, but Johnny looks fine in it as well." Ellie smiled at Sirius in a way that he recognized. "You know, if we move him upstairs to his room, you could come and lay down with me?"

"Why yes, yes I could," he answered, lifting their son and heading upstairs.

* * *

A few hours later, Ellie and Sirius were downstairs, awaiting the great unveiling of Quinn's costume. She hadn't let her mother make her one this year, insisting instead that Aunt Grace do it with her. She wanted it to be a secret.

Sirius admitted when Ellie had brought Johnny down in his little carrot outfit, he was exceptionally cute. Finally, after waiting downstairs for almost ten minutes, Quinn emerged from her room and bounded down the stairs. Both of her parents did a double take upon seeing her. Their daughter had made herself an excellent representation of a Dryad. The Irish wood fairy had always been a favorite of Quinn's, and with her aptitude in Potions, Healing and Herbology, it was natural that she felt an affinity to a creature that lived in an oak tree and were often sought out for inspiration by Druidic mystics for guidance. If nothing else about Quinn, she bubbled over with inspiration and creativity.

She wore a brown tunic and tights and small green shoes on her feet -- on second look, they realized that it wasn't a tunic at all, but rather her older brother's tee shirt; the tights and shoes were hers. She had created a breast plate of twigs, leaves and small flowers that she wore on her front, and had amazing green translucent and sparkling wings on her back. Her face was painted elaborately, especially around her eyes. Most shocking however, was that her hair was bright green.

Ellie stepped forward, "Quinn, sweetheart, you look...wonderful. You did this yourself?"

"Well," she answered proudly, "the tee-shirt Harry sent home for me to use, but I made the rest, 'cept the wings, those Aunt Grace made for me. She also helped me learn the charm to transfigure my hair color."

"Wait, you charmed your own hair? Did you just say that it was a Transfiguration Charm? That's...what has your Uncle Remus been teaching you?" Ellie said, all agog.

"Well, I'm a quick study; and Princess Edna has been working with me on some things as well, since I am so good with creatures," the little girl said proudly. Ellie and Sirius were so stunned that their daughter was able to pull off a Transfiguration of this level, that they forgot to reprimand her for doing underage magic.

"Merlin's undershorts," Sirius muttered, "what in the world is Professor McGonagall going to do with you when you get to Hogwarts in two years?" Given when her birthday is, she would be nearly twelve when she arrived at Hogwarts. If she was doing this level of magic now, what would another two years of homeschooling produce. Maybe it was time to ease up on her lessons, Sirius thought.

"Speaking of Professor McGonagall, we should be off. We do have a time schedule today," Ellie announced, and within a minute, they were flooing to the Lupin quarters, to meet up with Grace and the children and then off to the Ministry.

Upon arriving in the Lupin quarters, they were greeted with Rachel spinning around, watching as her skirt and wings would twirl up as she did. At four and a half, she was the girliest of girls. Today she was dressed as a butterfly, complete with fairy gossamer wings and skirt and pink everywhere else.

"Quinney," she cried when she saw her cousin. Quinn hugged the little girl, knowing that she looked up at her much as she looked up to her big sister and Ginny.

"Rachel, you look beautiful!" Quinn said as she squeezed the little girl back. A second later, Andy bounded into the room, and Sirius shook his head when he saw the boy. He was dressed as a Quidditch player, which wasn't surprising for a boy of seven. What was interesting, is that he was dressed as the seeker in the green and bright blue of the _Venice Veloce_. Even though they had been back in Britain for a year, the little boy still loved what he called "his home team". Sirius and Remus had both tried to get him to root for their favorite childhood teams to no avail. They had tried to get him to like the local team, the _Wigtown Wanderers_ or even one of the teams across the waters in Ireland. Didn't work. His team in Italy was his team. Period.

"Uncle Sirius, Aunt Ellie, I'm glad you're here, we can leave now," the boy said bluntly. "Mr. Kingsley said he had something special for me!"

"Andrew John," Grace reprimanded as she entered the room, already in her traveling cloak, "you will not be greedy. Calm down now, or I won't let you receive any of your gifts and candy today."

"Yes, Mummy," Andy replied, "sorry."

* * *

A few hours later, after the visits were done and the family had shared their meal and remembered those who were gone but hoped would visit them that night, all were getting ready to go and visit the other professors in the building. It had been generations since they had a teacher with small children, and the entire staff -- save Snape -- were excited to carry on the tradition of having little ones around to come and visit them.

To pass the last few minutes before it was time, the children and adults alike were celebrating by throwing nuts into the Lupin's fireplace, as was their favorite holiday custom. Ellie and Sirius watched as their children each threw their nut in, and watched as they burned brightly; thus ensuring they would be alive in twelve months time. They were most relieved when Quinn's burned brightest of all.

Sirius then lined up two hazelnuts, and levitated them, still side by side, into the fireplace. Ellie looked over at him and whispered: "It's going to take more than a nutty prediction to get me away from you."

"Good, but I still like to see good fortune foretold," he answered. The nuts just hit the floor of the fireplace when a horrid sound echoed within the castle. It rumbled and hissed, and then there was a great cawing, as if it came from an exceptionally large bird. The adults didn't need to be told what happened, they knew that it meant that the wards had fallen around the castle.

Terror struck Ellie, unsure of what was going on, but knowing it couldn't be good if it brought down the wards that protected Hogwarts. Ellie grabbed her infant son, and took off in a run for the founder's room, knowing that he would be safe there. Sirius grabbed Quinn by the hand and started running right behind her, with the older two, wands drawn were hot on their Papa's heels.

Ginny had drawn her wand and was running next to Harry, their motions nearly in-synch with each other. Grace had Rachel and Remus had Andy in his arms. He slammed the door to his office shut, as the nuts were still crackling and flaming away.

There was no one left to see the two hazelnuts violently burst apart from one another and shatter against the opposite sides of the fireplace walls.

* * *

The hallway was chaos. There were frightened younger students, not sure what to do, while the prefects and some seventh years were trying to shuffle them back to their common rooms and dorms, hoping that was the best place for them. More than one of the first years had just curled up on the floor, crying.

The Hogwarts staff was trying to rapidly restore the wards, but it was hard to do. As soon as they would make some progress, another section would seem to crash.

"Princesses!" Ellie screamed into the air, and Collinda came to hover next to her, even at her breakneck pace that she was running. "Take your leave and protect the castle, all of you. We'll get the children to the Founder's."

"Are you certain?" Collinda said skeptically. It went against everything in her to leave her charges, especially Harry.

"We're here with them, please go and protect the castle. When things have calmed, you can help up return to our old home," Ellie commanded. This was it, whoever was strong enough to bring down the wards was not someone that she wanted her children in the same country as. They would return to Italy.

Collinda nodded, but before she took her leave, she made the wren marks on the children's arms glow brightly, giving them all the protections of the Queen herself. Ellie was sure that she felt when the Princesses left, but it wasn't a worry, she knew that they were protecting them still, just from farther away.

The castle began to rumble and dust was quickly filling the hall. There still wasn't anything to fight, just the castle seeming to crumble around them. Harry, Ginny and Ainsley were throwing re-enforcing charms on the ceiling and walls as they ran along. This was a trick that Ailbhe taught them in her lessons, and it was paying off now. They seemed to be keeping the main hallways open and passable as they ran through.

The group came to the ever changing staircases and Ellie stopped momentarily to let the drive to find the Founder's give her direction in the mess. "Up one floor and to the left," she screamed and everyone nodded in affirmative as they continued to follow her. A rough hand on Sirius arm stopped him and made him spin around, taking little Quinn with him. She lost grip of her Papa's hand and slid across the marble floor, hitting her head against the banister, knocking her out.

"Where are you taking them?" Dumbledore demanded of Sirius.

"We're going to the Founder's Room and then we're going back to our home, the one far away from here," Sirius yelled. "I need to go now."

"You can't take Harry away, it's too dangerous," the Headmaster retorted. There was another rumble and a crack as masonry gave way. Dark plumes of dust and soot were soon saturating the air in the hallway, and it was hard to see.

"No, it's safer with him away. I'm sorry, but I have to go," Sirius said and turned looking for his daughter. When he didn't see her, he figured that one of the older children or an adult had taken her hand and he ran off to find the rest of his family.

He reached the door to the Founder's room quickly, and hurried himself inside. Remus and Grace had already taken the children away, able to apparate from within this room with the help of the Founder's. All the children were safe, save one.

"Where is Quinn?" Ellie screamed at her husband, the face turning ashen and her eyes immediately filling with tears.

"I thought that when she pulled away from me, she went with you or one of the kids. Dumbledore stopped me in the hallway," Sirius explained.

"Dam him!" Ellie yelled again. "We have to go and find her!" Sirius nodded and grabbed for her hand when another rumble struck the building. There was a crashing on the other side of the door and when the movement of the building and the noise had finally ceased, Sirius was able to open the door, and was greeted with a wall of stone, marble and rubble, blocking his way. Without a word, he began blasting and pushing them away with magic. Ellie sunk to the floor, trying to remember if she saw her daughter's protection pouch on her neck with her costume earlier. Tears, shaking and mumbling overtook her as her worst nightmare seemed to be coming true.

* * *

Out in the dark and dusty halls, three figures prowled along in the shadows. The tallest in the middle seemed to be reaching out and feeling the air in front of him. He was flanked on the right by a rather short man, wand drawn and on the right by a woman who moved much like a cat, weaving in and out of the small coves and insets along the walls. When she found one, she would stun the poor child, and leave them lying there. She was interested in one little girl in particular. A large snake slithered along the floor in front of the middle man, never leaving a small circular area around the man. The snake slunk and writhed carefully held close to its master.

A second later they saw it, a bright purple light acting as a beacon, leading them to her small and apparently sleeping form.

"Oh, now, what do we have here?" a hissing noise came from the tall man's mouth.

The woman kicked the little girl, and she rolled over. "It's the other one, the little sister."

"One should be as good as the other," the second man said, "at least as a plaything. Her father has always been an embarrassment to the family tree. Maybe I can start to put things right," the now rather ugly face of Crabbe senior rumbled.

"Is she powerful?" Voldemort hissed.

"She is very powerful, and taking her will be Sirius undoing," Raleigh cackled with glee. "As I said, one sister should work as well as the other for our needs. She's still in the line, master."

"That she is," he hissed back. "Take her."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back to a semi regular updating schedule. Two chapters after this one, chapter 20 is already about halfway done. Enjoy this, it's extra long. Think of it as a really big chocolate rabbit that you can savor for a while longer. Oh, and you know, I do so love to hear what you think when you're done reading. Please, please leave a review...MNF.**

**Chapter 19:**

**Preparation**

**December 20, 1995**

Seven weeks. It had been seven excruciating weeks. Seven weeks since their child had been taken. Life had essentially stopped for the Potter-Black family. They ate, did daily chores, existing as they would move through their days, but living was at a standstill. Ginny had remained with them, even she was affected by the kidnapping, if for no other reason than that Harry was despondent over his little sister and the uncertainty that surrounded her and where she was. The worst day by far was Quinn's birthday, the house was eerily silent on that November day, Ellie was so upset that she never moved from the chair by the fireplace. Her tears were a constant that day.

Ainsley and Grace spent hours every day trying to get any clue they could to Quinn's location. The princesses were able to tend to her, but they couldn't figure out where they were, which infuriated the Queen. She had no idea what this magic was, or why she couldn't break it. Together, Maeve and the Founders were working day and night on a location.

The only salvation that Ellie had for her broken heart was that she knew that her little girl wasn't suffering, much. Due to the protection from the princesses, the curses and torture that the Death Eaters attempted to heap upon her small body did not work. Collinda stayed by little Quinn's side day and night, casting glamours that made it appear to her captors that she was being hurt by them, when in effect, their curses were simply dissolving as they reached the protection that her wren tattoo had given her.

The first night that they held Quinn, Collinda had tried to simply remove her from the dungeon that they held her in, but it didn't work. The room was heavily warded to keep the child inside. A princess could go directly to Quinn, but she had no idea where the building that they were in was, or even where the room was within the building. They suspected that it was in a basement, since there were no windows, and they heard no sound of others even being near them; then again, it could just be the warding. The princesses were unsure, and they had never seen anything like this. Whoever it was that was keeping Quinn knew about the strengths of the family's magic, as well as its apparent weaknesses, and used it to their advantage.

At Collinda's request, Edna brought her items to attempt to break the spell, much like Ellie had when she and Harry had been taken years ago; but those holding Quinn had learned from their mistake, and had created a ward that was immune to the princesses' attempts.

Aside from their attempts to curse her, they were also trying to starve information out of Quinn. Since the princesses couldn't seem to move her from her captivity, they could at least tend to her while she was there. Food and water were brought to her, and Quinn was thankful for their conversation and proximity. It helped her from being so scared and lonely.

Even with the princesses tending her needs, the time in the room was beginning to take it's toll. They had taken her while she was dressed only in her halloween costume, which provided little warmth. Charms were cast upon her to try and keep her clean and warm, but they only lasted so long. Raichéal was now tending her body daily, trying to keep the sores and blisters from the insect infestation in the room that attacked her when the charming would fail.

Ellie and Sirius were only kept from going completely insane by the need to care for little Johnny. At four and a half months old, he was a bundle of energy. He had discovered his ability to roll over and over, and if they didn't watch him carefully, he'd make it the whole length of the living area on the first floor of the farmhouse. He babbled, sometimes quite loudly and burped just as loud, and then giggled at it. Their young son was the light in the absolute darkness that would not only have swallowed them, but their whole family. Sirius kept promising that they would all be together, and be a happy family again, soon.

They were surprised when Maeve appeared mid-afternoon as her usual updates came later in the evening. Ellie looked at the matriarch of her line, and knew that it was either very good news, or very bad news that made her come early. Anything in-between could have waited. Before Ellie could even ask, Maeve answered her question.

"We have found where they are hiding her," she announced, and Ellie began to cry again, but rather than the sad tears that usually fell, these were ones of joy. They had found her little girl, which meant that she could be rescued.

Sirius stood, went and pulled his wife into an embrace and kissed her head, her face, her lips. While still holding her, he pulled his wand and fired a patronus to the house next door, summoning Remus and Grace over. Harry stood as well, holding onto Ginny and spoke.

"When do we leave to get my sister?"

"Harry, I know you're anxious, but we need to come up with a plan, first," Maeve explained.

"Fine, let's get planning," he stated. "She's been held captive long enough. I want this over, all of it."

"Let's not be hasty," Maeve tried to quell his impulsiveness, but she could see that this would be hard. Harry had yet to learn to separate his emotions from his actions. "There is much to be considered here."

"What?" Harry nearly yelled, "we know where Quinn is, let's go and get her, and she can be home before Yule!"

"Harry," Sirius said in a stern voice, "you are not to speak to anyone in that tone of voice," he reprimanded, and then his voice got softer, as he lay a hand on the boys shoulder. "I know that you want to go, son, so do I, but we have to be careful about this, lest we endanger someone else. Hastiness and anger can be used against us. Please, make your apologies."

"I'm sorry for my outburst," Harry said meekly, his arms wrapping around Ginny tighter, as if he needed to anchor himself to something real. Ginny responded by gently rubbing his cheekbones with her thumbs and making a quiet hushing sound.

"It is quite understandable," the Queen responded. As the dramatic tension in the room seemed to seep away, the Lupins came bursting through the front door, both Remus and Grace aware that something must have happened if they were being summoned this way. None of them had winter cloaks on, even though it was quite frigid outside. It appeared as if Rachel had simply been scooped up from wherever she was, as she had no shoes on her feet. The contorted concern of the adults' faces eased away when they looked at the gentle smile of relief on Ellie's face. "Ah, we are all here. Please, everyone, sit down and let me explain what we have discovered," the Queen said.

Sirius took out his wand and stoked the fire as the family gathered in the sitting room. He sat down on the couch, Ellie came to sit next to him, having moved away to pick up little Johnny, who had begun to fuss in his play yard. To her Papa's surprise and delight, Ainsley crawled up into his lap and settled her head on his shoulder. It was rare for their twelve year old daughter to show such vulnerability, especially as of late, as it seemed that the kidnapping of her sister had aged her beyond her years. He found his hand immediately drawn to caress down her head and back as she curled in his lap.

Harry sat down in the overstuffed chair by the fire, and he pulled Ginny down to rest on his lap. Ginny mimicked the position that Ainsley had taken with her father, but the touches of love shared between Harry and Ginny were ones of passion and Harry's need to remain grounded. It was she that stroked his hair, his face, his hands.

Grace set her two children at the kitchen table, getting the _Tricking the Troll_ game set for them, effectively keeping them occupied while the rest spoke of Quinn. Andy and Rachel knew that Quinn had been taken, but beyond that, their parents had strived to keep them apart from the daily details of the search. Once the younger two were set, she went and sat upon the other couch with her husband, Remus wrapping a protective arm around her and kissing her temple. She in return kissed his fingers. Maeve directed the wingback chair to come over to her, and she sat down in it, as if she was sitting herself upon her throne in the castle.

"We have found the location where Voldemort is holding Quinn." No one in the room shuddered at the name. This family was over being afraid of him, and they were ready to bring about his demise. No one asked questions or spoke, knowing that the Queen would continue at her own pace.

"She is being held in Ireland, shockingly, in County Sligo of all places," Maeve confessed. She took it as a personal offense that the seat of the lineage had been sullied in this way. "The spell that housed them, it was...it took the magic of the Founder's shield and my scepter, together, to finally allow the scry to work. They've acquired an old castle in Ballygilgan."

The family nodded their heads, not really knowing where this town or the castle were, but understanding that County Sligo was not chosen by mistake. There had to be a significance to their being there.

"When we discovered that this was their location, I put the most gifted seers in our line to work on why they would be there. Your grandmother, Eleanor, was able to see something in the mist," Maeve explained, and Ellie turned her head away from her infant son to look at the Queen.

"What did Grandmummy see?" she asked.

"They are trying to get into the castle," the Queen said quietly. "From what Princess Ainsley was able to see, they believe that since your Ainsley was foretold to have great power and be an asset in battle, that it must be her access to some sort of weapon," she said, shaking her head. "How limited their minds are. In their line of thinking, if it is a weapon, then it must be housed in the castle, where only those of the line could get it. Of course, as we are all aware, it is her gift of sight and her deep faith that are of the most help to Harry. That is the power that she has."

"But, they're not at the access point to the castle. That's in Ballincar," Ellie pointed out. Little was ever truly divulged about the location of the castle in the history books, but it was common knowledge that it was in the sea, just off the coast of the County Sligo.

"We know that, child. However, their relative proximity has the whole line concerned. They are only a few miles away, thankfully, on the wrong bay, but they are still too close. If they were to somehow force Quinn to open the portal to the castle, we would all be in danger. If the castle were to fall, there would be nowhere to shelter the echoes of the princesses and I that live there. We would have nowhere on the terrestrial plain that would be safe. We would have to retreat to the spectral plain, unable to communicate with the living witch in our line anymore."

The heaviness of this revelation blanketed the room in concern. This was another layer of complexity that they would need to overcome. No one spoke for a moment, taking in this information and emotionally digesting it.

"So what does that mean for the rescue? Quinn doesn't know how to open the portal, neither does Ainsley for that matter," Sirius commented. "We need to get my little girl out of there." The pain in his voice was palpable. It made Ellie reach over and put a steadying hand on his thigh. He had been so strong for her, she had forgotten that he was as ripped apart inside as she.

"There is another way to open the portal, beyond the ritual. The spilled blood of a princess can always open the gateway. Blood contains powerful magic, all on it's own," Ellie explained. "They would have to drain her though, for the ritual to work," she said, croaking as new sobs started.

"Eleanor, Sirius, the princesses are working on a rescue plan right now, but the one thing that we are certain of, we cannot do anything before the solstice," the Queen said solemnly.

"What do you mean?" Ellie said as roughly as she could without frightening the now slumbering child in her arms. "I am not leaving my daughter with those people a day longer. We know where she is, we should go and get her." Every muscle in Ellie's face was taut, and the words were spoken through a clenched jaw. Her temper was flaring much like her older son's had a few minutes ago.

"We don't want to leave her there either, but, we can't risk the castle..." Maeve started.

Fresh tears of frustration began to fall down Ellie's face, "But my daughter...". Her words were broken off with a sob. Remus untangled himself from his wife, and went to kneel before Ellie. While he loved his little niece, he could see that this was much bigger than just rescuing Quinn. It was like playing chess, and not only worrying about your next move, but how your choice of moves could affect the next five and the ability to win the game. He needed to be the voice of reason.

"We're not going to leave her there forever, and I am sure that if they start to move her or try to cut her, the princesses will keep her safe; but there has to be a way to keep your lineage safe, and to get her out of there," he said calmly, stroking her face the way she used to stroke his as he recovered from the wolf changes. It was her touch that always reminded him of his humanity, and it calmed his soul. He was hoping that it was doing the same for her right now.

Ellie tilted her head at her friend, her eyes pleaded with him, searching him for some way to have her baby girl back in her arms right now. When Remus' face didn't change, her shoulders collapsed in defeat. She'd been waiting for so long, it pained her to wait longer. The silence was broken by Ainsley's small voice.

"Papa," she said quickly before her eyes glassed over, and her body went rigid. She had entered her visionary trance. Sirius moved his hands to steady her, and support her back, and the room was again silent as they waited for the words to begin to cascade from her.

"The final battle is upon us. Our buailtor is prepared, and his strongest weapon will lay at his feet and surprise his enemy. The serpent must be eliminated before the dark one can be killed. The raven lass will end the snake. The maiden of fire will shield those from the green lightening. The flaxen princess will mend the broken and mitigate the injured. Ten days we must wait before we can strike. The solstice behind, and the full moon ahead, we will be safe from those that still prowl the night. We will be victorious and the young princess will be brought home."

When the prophecy was finished, Ainsley slumped against her father, and Grace immediately got up to get her some juice and a strengthening potion. The visions took a great deal out of one so young.

"That was certainly informative," the Queen commented. "Eleanor, do you still have the gifts for the children that the Founders gave you?"

"I do, and this makes it clear whose gift each of them should have. Ten days? Must we really wait ten days?" Ellie responded.

"It would sound as if it would be safest," the Queen answered. Grace returned and helped a nearly incoherent Ainsley to drink down the potion, and handed Sirius the glass of juice, so that he could help her to drink. She returned to her seat, her husband following her.

"The creatures of the night?" Harry asked. "I thought that Mama took care of that problem." He shifted to look at Remus as they discussed it.

"Your mother did make a cure, but I am sure there are those that refused to take it," he said solemnly. "In the past, Voldemort had an army of werewolves at his disposal, ones that enjoyed the taste of human flesh and enjoyed the hunt. I am quite certain that there are some that would have never relinquish that power. If they have found their way back to Voldemort..." he stopped and sighed. "It would be best if we avoided the full moon."

"Then it is agreed, we have ten days in which to prepare. We need to begin pulling our forces together. Harry," she said looking at the young man, "there will be legions of fairies, goblins, nymphs and elves at your disposal. You will also have the princesses fighting alongside of you, as well as any humans who will join in our fight. I will send Princess Agatha to assist her sister, Ailbhe, in helping you devise a plan. I also believe that your uncle here will be of much assistance to you in this matter. His skill as a strategist isn't only seen on the chessboard."

Harry nodded. The weight of it all -- that he was the one to end this, suddenly aged the boy. He was no longer a child of fifteen, he was an anointed prince who was about to lead his troops into battle. He felt a kinship to all those who had gone before him in his place. In recent months he had been very taken by the stories of Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, a medieval High King of Ireland, and his sons. Right now, he wished he had their strength and bravery. He looked to his Mama, knowing all that she had endured in her life, all the suffering and sadness that she had gone through. He needed to do this for her, he needed to be this for her. To bring his sister home safely, to know that this scourge would finally have no hold over his family; it would be his gift to her for all that she had given up to make sure that he was ready for this. Something inside of him shifted, and he felt the change move through every cell in his body. He wasn't a boy, he was a man; a man with a destiny ahead.

All eyes in the room were upon Harry. He took a hand and cradled the face of his beloved and bestowed upon it a gentle kiss, she returned it with a determined smile. Ginny always knew who she had fallen in love with, and that this moment would come. Harry turned back to his family, a new calmness to him.

"We should start planning, and Mama, I think it's time that you show us those gifts."

* * *

**December 29, 1995 nearing midnight**

Silence had befallen the farmhouse in Italy. Nearly everyone was still awake, save the youngest three, but their tones were hushed, in the presence of those that they cared for most.

Ainsley was on her mirror. She'd finally confessed to her parents that her correspondences from last summer were with Neville Longbottom. He'd made no move to court her, knowing that she was still far too young, but they had a special friendship she hoped would grow over time. When her parents learned of this, Ellie gently smiled and said that she would make Neville a mirror so that they could speak with one another while she was away. Sirius simply muttered under his breath that his baby girl was far too young. When the initial emotions of the announcement had passed, both Ainsley's Mama and Papa realized that if their daughter had to be close to a young man, that Neville possessed both the decorum and maturity that Ainsley needed.

"I can't tell you much more, Neville," she said quietly. "Just that tomorrow, well it looks like later today, we're going to go and get Quinn." There was a weight to her words. Neville knew of Harry's prophecy and Ainsley's legacy, in the broadest of terms. He had sworn to her that he would tell no one of what he knew, and he had kept that promise. He'd even hidden it from his Grams and from his toad, who was usually his confidant.

"Promise me that you'll be safe," he asked. Ainsley smiled at his question, and gently scraped her top teeth over her bottom lip.

"I'll do my best. I also hope that this will mean that we can return to Hogwarts; but I think that Mama will want to keep us all close for a while," she said, the shy smile still on her face.

"Is that a gut feeling, or have you seen it?" Neville asked her in a teasing way.

"Is there really a difference with me? I guess I should be going to sleep..." she muttered, making no real move to end the conversation.

"Yeah, you should..." Neville replied, but there wasn't any movement from either party. They quietly just went on to discuss some plant that Neville was given for Christmas, anything to prolong the conversation.

In the room upstairs, two young lovers lay twined together, barely dressed. Their bodies were coiled together, their foreheads pressed against one another, their lips a hair away from the others. Their hands ghosted over their cherished one's skin, and their speech was in an almost dreamlike state.

"Some day, Gin, we're going to have a beautiful house. I'd like to have a farm maybe, there's something calming about tending the gardens and caring for the animals. I love this place, it's my home...I want our home to feel this way too," Harry whispered.

"It feels this way because there is so much love here," she replied. "But I know what you mean. I need a house with a big kitchen and table that always has enough room at it, so that no one ever feels left out..." she faded off.

"You'll be back there, love, I promise. We'll get my sister home, Voldemort will be gone and all that we have is the rest of our lives before us."

"You're so sure that you're going to survive tomorrow, Harry. Those princes that you so idolize, not all of them made it home..." Harry shifted so that he was now resting on one bent arm, holding her face between his hands, his eyes wide and alert.

"I swear to you, with all that I am and with all that is in my heart, I will be with you tomorrow, and the day after, and every day of forever that we will have. Ginny, I know that we're young, and that we've only been together since Candlemas, but I need to know, will you be my bride? Someday, when we've finished school, and we're at least of age to do magic, will you accept me as your husband -- heart, mind, body and soul?"

"Oh, do you even have to wait for my answer? I will go anywhere with you, Harry, always." The question and the response were sealed with a passionate kiss.

In the house next door, a married couple laid entwined, clothes strewn around the room, their bodies glistening with the sheen of active intimacy. Remus lay with his wife pulled to him, his long legs covering hers, his chest to her back, his arms sheltering her chest and head. He was whispering in her ear:

_If questioning would make us wise, no eyes would ever gaze in eyes;_

_If all our tale we told in speech, no mouths would wander each to each._

_Were spirits free from mortal mesh, and love not bound in hearts of flesh,_

_No aching breast would yearn to meet and find in ecstasy complete._

_For who is there that lives and knows, the secret power by which he grows?_

_Were knowledge all, what were our need, to thrill and faint and sweetly bleed?_

_Then seek not, sweet, the "If" and "Why", I love you now, until I die._

_For I must love because you live, and in life, in me what you give._

"You know what your reciting poetry does to me," Grace said with a breathy sigh and a slight roll of her hips against him.

"I do indeed, my dearest," Remus said with a smug smile.

"Who knew that such a romantic was lurking under all that guilt and denial?" she answered as she rolled over, pushed him on his back and straddled him. "Hell, if I'd known sooner..."

She never finished the thought, as he had pulled her head once again down to him and was kissing her, fiercely.

And in the master suite of the big house, Ellie and Sirius sat on their bed. Their clothes had been shed, but there was no shyness in their being disrobed in one another's presence. Their skin glistened with scented oil, the only remnants of the hour they had spent touching, caressing and caring for the body of their most beloved.

Ellie reached into her drawer, and pulled out a dark pink, nearly purple candle. It had been somewhat hollowed out from the bottom, and stuffed with juniper, iris, apple leaf and ivy. Ellie lit the candle, watching as the flame took hold. She then gently moved her husband so that he was sitting across from her, his legs open. She eased herself between his legs, her ankles crossed behind his back, her thighs draped across his, their chests nearly touching. Sirius mimicked her legs, twining them together behind her back. She lifted his left hand, bringing it so that his wedding ring rested right above her mark.

"I wanted to repeat our vows tonight," she quietly said. "I need to know that we are still part of one another." Sirius eyes were suddenly darkened with passion, understanding her desire.

His hand held firm, his thumb gently brushing against her breast, his cheek touched hers as he leaned in and whispered in her ear: "Corp, croi, anam -- you are my body, heart and soul."

Ellie moaned lightly in response to the words, and the closeness of their bodies. "me' eadal bhur smál -- I wear your stain," she replied, succumbing to the seduction of her husbands touch, closeness and words.

"Ionúin," he moaned in response.

"Ionúin, go deo," Ellie said, but then continued. "With my love, I ask the goddess to shield you," she said, kissing his shoulders. "With my passion, I ask the goddess to steady your heart as you enter battle," this with a kiss to the center of his chest. Sirius shuddered as her lips came to his skin, his body strongly reacting to what she was doing. "With my lips, I ask the goddess that my love will keep you calm through whatever trials you must face," she added with an unhurried kiss to his lips. "With my body, I beg that the goddess bring you safely home to me." Ellie's hands traced up his spine, over his shoulders, down his arms, back up to his chest where she slid them down the planes of his muscles, coming to finally rest upon his hip bones.

Sirius hadn't moved his hand from her mark, he just looked at her and marveled at the gentle, ancient spell work that she had just provided him. Protection that only she could give. He could not take the tension in his body any longer, and his hands moved to her hips, guiding her up and then brought them together, to seal their rite, their passion, their love.

* * *

Morning broke all too soon for the family, and at precisely ten, they left for Potter house in England. There were kisses and goodbye's as Grace was remaining behind in Italy with her two, as well as Johnny. She would not be alone here, Arthur and the twins had agreed to stay and be her protection, should their secret home somehow be discovered.

Ron and Hermione wanted to help, but Ellie and Sirius wouldn't allow them to take an active roll. There was far too much danger, and unlike Ginny, they hadn't been trained for nearly long enough. As a compromise, they were given the task of guarding the Burrow and Molly. No one actually thought that there was any chance that it would be attacked, but it made the pair feel like they had something important to do. Percy knew what was going on, but his job was to monitor where the Chief of the Wizengamot was through all of this, and make sure that he was as far away from the conflict as possible.

Once the initial attack was over, and Quinn and the family were safely away, British as well as Irish Aurors would come in and round up any Death Eaters or Dark wizards that were there. Though the two Ministries didn't often agree on much of anything, the one thing they could come to consensus on was that Voldemort and his followers were a menace that needed to be taken down before they had the chance to regain any real power. Kingsley would be the go between, and signal when they should enter the battlefield. Everything had to be agreed upon between the two groups, since County Sligo was in Ireland and not the United Kingdom.

There would be two groups that would lead the attack, the first would be the distraction and diversion group. Led by Kingsley and Amelia, this would be made up of the legions of magical creatures that had pledged their allegiance to Harry and the line of Maeve. Charlie Weasley had come along, bringing his favorite Fireball dragon with him -- the ultimate form of distraction. Bill would also be working with this group, who along with Princess Gormlaith would destroy the wards on the old castle once and for all. Maeve and Edna would be among this group, directing princesses and creatures alike and calling on reinforcements as needed.

The other group would have the task of extracting Quinn. Collinda and Raichéal would be working on the inside, while Keira would be working as a go–between and guide for the family and Devon. Their tools, weapons and armor were all waiting at Potter house, and that is where they would have their final battle meeting and blessing prayers.

Before the clock had finished striking ten, Grace found herself in the large sitting room, the baby in her arms and the three Weasley men looking at her.

"Well, I say we put the kettle on," Arthur said as cheerfully as he could. "We're in for a long wait."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Another really long chapter, but it's also the next to last one. I've started writing the finale, give me a few days to finish and let my betas have at it, and then you can all read it as well. As a small point of reference for this chapter, a Brownie is an elf of UK lore that if you treat it well, and leave it food each night, will come and finish your undone housework for you. When they are referenced in the chapter, I am speaking of them and not about unspeakably delicious chocolate sweets. Deep thanks to both HGRH35 and MyGinevra for their excellent betaing work and to my hubby, who helped me with battle strategy. That's all. Enjoy...if you can do such a thing with a chapter titled "Battle". MNF**

**Chapter 20:**

**Battle**

**December 30, 1995**

The family and those going with them had gathered at Potter House at ten in the morning. By eleven, a feast had been set out for them, made by the loving and worried hands of Molly Weasley. The early afternoon was spent again going over their plans, confirming contacts in the Auror departments of the UK and Ireland, and supply checks. Percy reported in several times, assuring that the Headmaster of Hogwarts was indeed at the Ministry of Magic, dealing with some mundane legislation that the Minister had set forth. He predicted that he would be there until at least early evening, at which time Minerva would take over in his handling, having called a staff meeting for the evening to discuss house rules for the upcoming term. Albus Dumbledore would not be interfering in their work today.

By late afternoon, the time had come to begin dressing for battle. Each one had been provided with a special robe, the color and decorations reflecting the role that they each would play in the rescue of Quinn and the destruction of Voldemort. These robes had been commissioned by the Queen, the fabrics woven by the fairies and the embroidery done by the princesses. Each had also infused the fabrics with their own magic.

Harry wore red, the color of battle and protective energy. His robe was trimmed with the lion for strength and leadership and the horse for other-worldly power. Like all of the robes, the runic incantation for protection had been sewn onto the garment with the love and care of a princess.

Ainsley wore robes of royal blue, signifying her place in the royal line, as well as her patience, promise and healing abilities through her gift of sight. The raven and cat graced her robes, for her ability to use foresight and her natural intuition of creatures.

Ginny wore vibrant green, a sign of her connection to the earth and the world that surrounded her. The serpent and dolphin were emblazoned on her robes, signifying the

unconditional love that she shared with Harry and the transformation that it had provided them both.

And so, around the small group it went: Remus in the brown of the earth and wolf and eagle, all signifying his devotion to his family and his skill as a strategist. Devon wore gray with a moose and bison on his robes; he would always be the mighty protector. Amelia had the hare and rooster on her pink robes. Kindness, quick thought and communication described her to a tee. Kingsley in orange with the antelope and ox -- friendship, order and discipline and speed described the Auror protection of the man and his relationship to the family.

Bill wore silver to represent his intelligence and intuition, as did the owl on his robes. The armadillo seemed appropriate for the warding master, as building and protection would be the emphasis on this mission. Charlie had been sent his gold robes that were festooned with a great dragon and the falcon; together they represented the heralding of their hopeful good luck, ascent and victory today. Charlie had an unwavering faith that they would be successful, and went into the battle with a vibrato that the more cautious members of the party lacked. He would be flying directly there from the mountains of Scotland, where he had been hiding for the last few days.

Unlike most witches and wizards, the group that would lead the battle today would be dressed in armor. It was something that magical folks had never seen the need for, since their spells could mimic the same protection. This armor was special however, for it was commissioned by the Queen and was identical to that which she wore into battle when she was alive.

The breastplates were segmented, and covered the chest and upper arms. They were goblin made of the finest metals, and covered in runes to provide added protection. Wood nymphs and elves had collected all of the needed ingredients for the protection spells, and had boiled them down so that they were concentrated essences. The metals were then infused with these essences, giving them extra strength and eliminating the need to wear a pouch that could impede the armor from fitting as tightly as it needed to.

Lacing up the front and back, the armor could be tightened to fit the wearer precisely. There was a heavy silence in the room as they helped one another lace them properly and tie them tight, but the tension was greater nowhere than what was passing silently between Ellie and Sirius as they prepared the other for war. Their eyes never left one another as they deftly dressed each other.

Sirius' robe was black as night, a huge dog and an alligator had been expertly sewn onto it. Black the color of endings and beginnings, the color of boundaries of the past and present, the color of releasing negativity. As the father of the little girl they were set to save, it seemed apropos. He was always associated with the dog, the one of friendship and loyalty, guardian and protector. The alligator only added to those strengths.

Ellie was dressed as the yin to his yang. Her robe of the purest white, and embroidered in purple to signify her royal blood, as well as the sign of the wren, another link with her queenly lineage. As it had been for much of her life, she was associated with the fox, the one of guile and secrets but also of her familiar protection in these matters. Both of their robes had been sewn by Maeve. No one knew of the power of being mated to one so perfectly matched than the Queen herself. She had no doubt that what there was between the reigning princess and her earthly prince was indeed a gift from the goddess and had been written in the stars before either of them had been born.

The intimacy between Ellie and Sirius as they helped one another was sensual and personal. Every touch was conveying a message, every word that passed from eye to eye needed no sound to be a symphony. When Sirius finally placed the small crown on Ellie's head, everyone felt a palpable need to either flee the room or stand in awe of the intensity of the love they shared. His hands trailed down her cheeks, and he held her face between them. Ellie responded with a hand upon his heart.

It was finally Queen Maeve who broke the silence, indicating that they should move outside, where they were to meet the leaders of the other brigades that had pledged themselves to Harry. Instantly, she was gone from the gathering.

The room parted, and Ellie went out first, her hand clenching her husband's. Any creature that would be with them today was only there because of their dedication to line of Maeve, and their allegiance to the lineage. Ellie was the living, breathing embodiment of that sworn alliance. They were expecting one worthy of her title, she would not disappoint. Ellie carried herself with a poise that seemed ill-fitting on her, or was it simply formerly unseen by her human counterparts? Only the Queen knew the answer to that, but she wasn't there for the others to be able to gauge her reaction.

Harry took Ginny by the hand, and then wrapped an arm around the shoulders of Ainsley. He had always been close to his siblings, but in the last few days, he learned how much they were truly a part of him. Whatever would be done today, whether win or loss, it would be because of the ties that bound him to the two girls. He also knew that his strength was rooted in Ginny. He would let her do what she needed to, but for now, he just wanted the connection with her.

The rest followed, and soon the large backyard felt smaller, filled as it was with beings and creatures. There were quiet discussions being held around the area, but Ellie's eyes had turned to the small graveyard that sat beneath the long limbs of the Willow tree, now naked for the winter.

"They're pleased with how you've done, Lol," Sirius told her in a nearly imperceptible voice. He knew as she looked in that direction that she was thinking about James and Lily. "I have no doubt in my mind that they are proud of how you have done."

"_We've_ done," she reminded him. "We raised him together." Sirius nodded and kissed her brow. They turned back to see Maeve now standing among them, a circle automatically forming around her. The princesses slowly arrived, many of them Ellie and Sirius recognized from their visit to the throne room in the castle years ago. They were all dressed in similar battle armor as the witches and wizards; but they were the brightest of whites, their armor reflecting light in the polished gold. Ainsley let out a sound of surprised shock as she saw them all. It was her first visualization of just how long was the line that preceded her. She felt like a tiny, weak link amongst them all.

"Sunset is nearly upon us," Maeve began, "and so we shall strike when the last rays are dipping below the horizon, but before the waxing moon is fully alit. Before we depart, we shall ask the goddess for her blessing upon our venture. From the east, we call upon the masters of the air. Blow upon us the strength that we need to defeat our enemies. From the south, we call to the masters of fire. May your burning desire give us guidance in the ways that we will fight. From the west we call upon the mistresses of water. Protect us from injury and provide comfort and healing to us when it cannot be avoided. From the North, we call on the mistresses of the earth. We ask that you ground us, and lead us all safely home when the battle is done. We look to you, our mystical guardians, to provide for us in this time of war. We know our plans, and right is on our side. Safe and fruitful journeys until we are together again."

The princesses each took hold of their charges, and they were quickly whisked away to a hillside not far from the castle ruins that were housing Voldemort and his followers. Gormlaith had taken Bill directly to the far side of the castle, where they could start dismantling the wards. They had discovered why the warding on this place was so strong. Someone had taken a page from the family book, or some other family's very old magic book, and had warded with runes written right into the foundation stones of the castle.

The first priority was to bring down the wards on the far side, so that the rescue party could slip into a small side door. It appeared to be closest to the room that Quinn was in. As Gormlaith would lay her hand upon the runic stone, the rune would crumble. Bill then needed to create a hole, just outside of the wall, and plant a different rune. Once Quinn and the family were safe from the building, they were going to make it impossible to re-enter the castle once one had exited. With the elves' help, another ward was being set farther out that made it impossible to apparate away. The princesses' ability to move through time and space was not affected, and each of the Aurors that would come as the second wave were given talismans so that they could move those captured away from the battlefield and into awaiting prison cells.

When Gormlaith had successfully pulled the wards down on the entire wall, even as Bill reset the new ones, she sent a message to Edna to tell her to move. Presently, the family appeared with Devon at the princesses' side. Edna was the only one who accompanied them in, as Collinda and Raichéal were already inside, hastily helping to dress Quinn in her battle garb. The first goal was to get her away to safety, but they also knew that she had a role to play in bringing down Voldemort; otherwise she would not have been given her founder's gift.

Edna went first, as she could hear her sister princesses directing her and leading them to where Quinn was held. Sirius and Devon took point, wands drawn. Ellie followed closely behind; a special bag secured across her chest and hanging on her hip allowed her to access any spell pouch that she might need. The bag was a gift from her mother. Her now encyclopedic knowledge of her family magic would be an unexpected and powerful weapon. Harry, Ginny and Ainsley were in the middle, their wands drawn too, with Remus taking up the back. His job was to help protect Ainsley, as she could still be taken and her foresight used against her brother.

They moved stealthily, surprised that they had encountered absolutely no resistance as they moved within the decrepit castle walls. Edna whispered quietly back to Sirius when he questioned her about this.

"They're all in the dining room," she explained. "They had no idea that we were coming today, so they're going on with their day as if all is normal. They don't usually bring Quinn her daily gruel until after they have all finished."

Sirius gripped his wand tighter in anger, and Ellie had to choke back a sob at the treatment that their daughter had endured while here. While they both knew that she was well tended by Collinda and Edna all of the time she was gone, it was still disheartening, knowing that there would likely be scars from the time that she had been away from them. She just wasn't sure how deep they would be.

They came to a small iron door, a physical lock was engaged, as were magical ones. Ellie pushed herself forward, and withdrew from her pouch a small bouquet of herbs. She rubbed it over the door in the pattern of a giant F, the shape of the rune _fehu. _The literal meaning of the rune was cattle, but it stood for possession; success and happiness; creation and destruction. It wasn't accidental that this was the rune she had chosen. By using the rune of cattle, she had embraced Maeve's power that had lain dormant in her. She was claiming her birthright and then also taking back what was rightfully hers. The rune glowed for a moment on the door, and then it went dark. Ellie reached forward and could turn the handle now. The only thing keeping their daughter captive was the heavy padlock on the door. One motion of Sirius' wand removed that impediment as well.

The door flew open, and Ellie, Sirius, Harry, Ginny and Ainsley rushed in. Remus smiled at the little girl, thankful that his niece was fine. He and Devon remained at the door, wands drawn, continuing to watch the hall for unwelcome visitors.

"Mama, Papa," Quinn cried before she flung herself at them. They enveloped her and each other in a great hug. "They told me that you'd forgotten me, but I knew that you'd come, I knew it."

"Quinney, my little sprite, of course we came for you," Sirius told her as he looked into her eyes and held her little face between his hands. "I've told you since you were little, I will always find you, no matter where you've gone." She was the best at hiding when they played hide and seek on the farm; but no matter where she had gone as a child, her Papa had always found her.

"I remember, Papa, I remember," she said, throwing her arms around her father. When he released her, she hugged her Mama again. Ellie's tears were flowing freely now, relief and gratitude were washing over her.

"Hello my sweet girl," Ellie whispered to her daughter. "How I have missed you. Johnny misses you too."

"I've missed him. I bet that he's grown up so much," Quinn answered, tears of relief also flowing from her.

"When we get home, you'll see how much," Harry answered her. "Missed you squirt, and I'm never loaning you a shirt again. See how long it took for you to get it back to me?" he teased her, and Quinn broke free of her mother's embrace to go hug her older brother and sister.

"Don't you ever leave me like that again, Quinn!" Ainsley scolded her. "I need you," she added softly. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as they watched the siblings embrace one another.

"We need to be on the move," Collinda finally said, not wanting to break the mood, but learning from Gormlaith that they were nearly ready to reset the wards on the castle. The family needed to be out before that could happen.

"Okay," Sirius said, steeling himself so that he could take care of Ellie if she needed it. As his wife righted herself, she looked at what her youngest daughter was wearing. The princesses that tended her had dressed her in her armor, and while her body was still so small and she looked frail in it, there was also a vigor to her that radiated off of her. It seemed as if she was determined to face her captors and end this.

Her robes were vibrant yellow, and it was appropriate the color for change and travel would be worn by the one who had been held against her will for so long. She had a badger and boar gently crafted into her robes, one a creature of prophecy fulfilled, the other the sign of overthrowing evil and beginning a just regime. The robe was meant as a warning for those who would take her on. Though the smallest, she was not one to be trifled with.

It was only in seeing them now all together that Ellie realized the four children represented the four basic ingredients of life. They were the embodiment of the most primal elements that magic dealt with. They needed each other, they completed each other. She was deeply hopeful that together, they would succeed.

They went back out the door, Edna leading the way, the rest following as they had earlier, the exception being that Collinda was with the children and Raichéal took up the rear with Remus. Sirius kept a protective hand on his young daughter, not wanting to be separated from her again. Ellie smiled in appreciation of just how protective his love was for all of them.

The labyrinth of dark hallways seemed longer this time, and Ellie wondered if they were headed for a different door, but didn't get the chance to voice her concerns, as Collinda answered her unspoken question.

"We can hear them returning to the room, they're going to find that she's gone any minute, and our presence will be known. We're headed away from them, and out another small and usually unattended door," she explained.

Not more than a minute later, they could hear heavy footsteps running, descending from somewhere above them and then away, down the corridor that they had just been in.

"Heads up, everyone," Edna yelled, "we've been discovered. We're almost to the door, and the troops are assembled outside. We'll be there in a minute."

Ellie could feel the muscles harden along her chest and back, and the rush of fresh adrenaline flood her body. There was something feral burning within her, something that she was anxious to release. One glance at Sirius and she knew that he was feeling it too. Enough had been taken, there would be no more.

The faint glimmer of starlight could be seen through the small window carved into the stone on the right side of the door that they were headed to. Even though there was a battlefield awaiting, the group just wanted to be free of the castle. They had a ways to go still, but there was a end to the darkness that was now engulfing them.

Without any warning, red sparks flew past them, hitting the buttresses of stone that held the ceiling in place. Dust fell, making the small glimmer of the outside world vanish, and the group knew that they were being pursued. Reaching down into her bag, Ellie spoke to the group, "Get down, hold on to someone else, and close your eyes." As the witches and wizards did so, Ellie threw something down the dark hall. A second later, it connected with the floor about thirty feet away, and there was a bright flash. Those that had come after them screamed out from the brightness of the light.

"That should give us a good five minutes," she said, again reaching in her bag and throwing another pouch much closer this time. As this one connected, they heard a cracking sound, as if a shell or small vessel had been broken. A mist arose, and congealed in the air to form a mystical representation of the Queen's diadem. "Follow it, it will lead us to her."

No one spoke, but they began to move faster. Sirius had wrapped his arm around Quinn, and Harry and Ginny had flanked Ainsley, feeling the need to keep her safe as they traveled. In another tense minute they were outside of the castle, closer to the battlefield than the door that they had entered through, but on the same side. Gormlaith and Bill were waiting for them, and as Remus exited, the heavy exterior door slammed shut. Gormlaith laid her hand upon the door, and it vanished, turning into solid wall. Bill buried the last of the runes, and the new wards on the castle had been fully set.

Doors had been removed or sealed, so that anyone who wanted to exit the castle needed to exit on the side where Maeve and her troops had assembled. Devon, Bill, and Gormlaith took off to join the fight; leaving the family with their magical escort.

"My children, the time has come. Are you all ready?" Ellie asked the quartet, and each one nodded at her, pulling out the special gifts that they had for this, the final quest.

"Mama," Harry spoke as he pulled a sack from within his robes. "You've prepared us, we're ready now. I want this over." The sack had belonged to Godric Gryffindor, it contained the first set of rune stones that had been created for him when he was studying magic in the Queen's castle. The resolve set his features, and for the first time, he did not look like his Mum and Dad, but instead as a man, unique in his attributes.

Ainsley removed a dagger from her robes, unsheathing it from the raven–decorated case and holding it away from her, while her wand was held close in her other hand. Lady Ravenclaw had fashioned it, reminding her that wit and intelligence were important, but so was having a good way to get yourself out of trouble.

Little Quinn pulled a well worn healing pouch from the pockets of her robes. It had been fashioned by princess Eadaoin, the first of the line that would teach at Hogwarts, for Helga Hufflepuff. Quinn had benefitted from having it on her body, feeling stronger every minute. She hoped that perhaps she wouldn't have to use it on anyone else.

Lastly Ginny pulled the shield that had been attached to her back, and swung it around her body, releasing it from the tethers that had tied it to her. Slytherin had given her the kite shield, embossed with his family crest, to defend anyone around her. They were all quite certain that when Voldemort saw it, he would be enraged that she had in her hands something he had so desired.

Because of this, when the family entered the fray that they could hear being waged not far away, it was assumed that he would come after Ginny. If he followed what they believed to be his weakness, it would give them time to enact their plan. Remus, Sirius and even Ellie, their age and experience were now secondary to the mission of the young. Ellie quickly kissed each of them on the forehead, and they looked at one another, and then headed into battle. When they turned the corner, the battle was raging.

The war was being waged on the front side of the castle, in the large grassy entrance area and walkway that lead from the forest that you had to travel through to find it's remote location. The house was surrounding on the front and the left side by the forest. The right side, where the family was now, wasn't far from the rocky shore. Along the front of the house stood decrepit floral decanters and bushes that had long ago lost their shape. It added to the overall depressive nature of the ruins.

The Death Eaters were fully engaged by the regiments of creatures. The element of surprise had worked in Maeve's favor, as there were few of Voldemort's forces present tonight. Their haughty vanity made them unprepared to deal with those whose magic they had disregarded. Nymphs turned the bodies of their opponents into trees, goblins secured them in shackles that were stronger than any that were in use at Azkaban. The fairies proved too fast and artful in their magic for the often cumbersome Death Eaters to keep up. The magic that they had most underestimated however, was that of the elves. Happy to finally be able to exact some price on those that had bound their kind into slavery for so long, the elves trapped and entangled their enemies in some creative ways. The children all shuddered as they saw the acromantula eyeing up the two that were placed in his web by the elves.

Charlie flew on his Chinese Fireball high above, flanked by a formation of brownies on their brooms and all manner of creatures of the air. The few dementors that had been in the area had been called to engage as well, but they couldn't withstand the laughing of the brownies that would render their darkness impotent. Kingsley, Devon, Amelia and Bill ran among those that had been trapped by the creatures, attaching to them locator alarms for the Aurors. When these were touched with a wand, it would send them to the awaiting cells.

Princesses moved and glided through the air, doing unseen magic that aided the others in their work. The few of Voldemort's followers that had been in the castle were nothing compared to the forces that were against them. The questions remained, however, if more would be coming? Several flew the skies and did scrying spells to look for any arriving backup. The elf sentinels were also on watch, their own special early warning system.

"Come on," Collinda reminded them, "we cannot have the second wave come in until you have completed your mission and I have you safely away." Seeing Voldemort on the far side of the battlefield, flanked again by the Rowles, the family used the advancing line of the Queen's forces to move along, safe from danger, until they were feet from the Dark Lord, and his apparent closest apprentices. Sirius would take Quinn to the right, while Remus would stay to the left with Ainsley. Ginny would be in the middle of the group that would engage Voldemort, supported by Ellie and Harry. The women's presence was intended to give Harry enough time to get his spell set.

Ellie made eye contact with both Sirius and Remus, and seeing that they were both in place, she then looked to Harry. "Ready?"

"Completely," he replied. The trio began to advance, and there were calls of support and cheers from the legions of light that were fighting together. Thornfin had turned, and was trying to go back into the castle. It was the first that they had discovered that they had no where to take cover.

"How did this happen?" screamed Voldemort. The two cowered in his presence, knowing that there was nothing that they could say, and it was likely that speaking could end in their deaths. It was then that he saw the shield in Ginny's hands. Everyone could almost see his mouth water with desire over the long spoken of, but never seen artifact. His eyes locked on Ellie. "You! What do I have to do to your family? I've killed nearly all of you!"

"Clearly, even one Potter standing is too many for you," Harry said, knowing that it was a reference to the murder of his parents. "Two will be more than you can bear."

"How cocky you are, child. Do you really think that you have enough power to take me on?" Voldemort replied. "I am the Dark Lord, and you are simply a boy. Now, give me that shield little girl." He began to advance, but felt himself come up against an invisible wall. Ellie smiled a cockeyed grin at him.

"Only through me, you evil, lying, murderous thief. You've taken enough from us, you will have no more," she spoke with a calm assurance. He assumed it was her magic that was holding him at bay, but it was really the magic of the shield that was protecting them. While his eyes were engaged with Ellie in a battle of unspoken nerve, Harry had taken the runes out of the bag, and with his wand, was settling them into the grass a few steps ahead of Voldemort.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus both took it as their cue to advance upon the Thornfin and Raleigh. The girls stayed hidden while the men advanced. Thornfin was quickly stunned and bound by Sirius, a laugh of delight at finally knowing his former father–in–law would be out of his life, forever. Raleigh however, proved to be more of an issue.

She now appeared as demented as her sister, and she strongly reminded him of his cousin, Bella. Her eyes were wild, and she wielded her wand with a hand that seemed to form and encase it. Remus was unable to subdue her, and the sight of Sirius binding her father unhinged her completely. Sirius became the target of her wrath, unleashing all of her hatred of him, she began firing curses, which flew right off the protective armor that he wore. When she realized that she wouldn't make any headway, she charged at him.

Voldemort caught sight of Quinn, hiding behind a large planter where Sirius had left her. He wanted her back, he wanted to know what she knew. He was well aware that if he once again had her captive, he would have a bargaining chip to be able to slip away. No mother would sacrifice her child in that way. In parseltongue he spoke to the huge snake that was behind him in the grass. He directed his confidant to go and get the girl.

Ainsley saw the snake moving away from it's master, and toward her sister. She knew that this was her chance. She darted out from her hiding place along the forest line and charged at the back of the snake. With one hand, she fired a freezing spell, stopping the snake in its tracks. With the other, she raised her dagger and sunk it in behind the monstrous creatures head. It tried to wiggle, and have it's dying act be to grab hold of the girl, but Ainsley was quickly lifted by a strong set of arms. Her Uncle Remus had picked her up, and swung her to his far side, while his large foot rested upon the serpents head until it finally gave up and expired. A sound from within the forest caught his attention, and he turned.

Voldemort bellowed in frustration as he felt the great snake die. It was a primitive noise, made from the depths of the only small bit of his soul that remained. His eyes glowed red as he turned back to Ellie and Harry. Fury swirled around him, charging the air, but the trio stood tall. "You have meddled enough!" he yelled at Ellie, but she just smiled at him. Harry looked down, one step more, he just needed to take one step more.

Raleigh tackled Sirius, and together they went flying down the stairs from the castle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Remus sheltering the two girls under his arms. With one less thing to worry about, he threw Raleigh off, her slight build made it easy for him to send her flying through the air. She hit the ground with a thud, and did not move. Sirius went to stand, but realized that he was having a hard time moving. When he had landed on the ground, his armor had bent in such a way on his back that it was limiting his motion. Without thinking, he reached and began unlacing it.

Remus could smell them before he could see them. They were ones like he had been in the forest, ready to pounce. He called upon Collinda, and then shoved the girls behind him. One whose scent he knew well was among the attackers, the one who reveled in the flesh of children, who had infected him and pushed the love of his parents away from him. He would not let that one attack these children if it was the last thing that he did.

Finally, Voldemort moved his bare foot among the grass. His left foot joined his right within the box that Harry had created with his rune stones. As soon as he was inside, he threw the pouch down on the ground in front of the man who was once Tom Riddle. The spell hummed and snapped into place, trapping the Dark Lord. He tried to release his fury, but the spell he cast only rippled and cracked along the walls of the binding spell. The runes and the bag sunk into the ground magically, and the trap was permanent and unbreakable.

"What have you done? How have you trapped me?" he yelled.

"There is so much more to magic than you can understand," Ellie calmly replied. Her crown glowed, casting down a light that bathed her, making the witch appear as an angel. "Magic is not rooted in power, magic is rooted in love. That will be your undoing. I have oh, so many years of experience behind me that you could not hope to have."

Sirius freed himself from his armor just as the werewolves charged from the woods. He shifted forms, knowing that he was safer around them as a dog. Remus charged as well, quickly facing off with his lifelong nemesis. It wasn't much of a battle with Greyback. Remus was a stronger human than he was, and he was far better protected. It ended with a violent crack of the hybrid creatures neck.

The girls watched in horror as their Papa and uncle engaged the enemy, but soon there were princesses and creatures charging in too. It was then that their attention was drawn to their Mama. She was looking at them, her eyes beckoning them. It was time, they were needed. The girls dashed among the fighting, holding hands, until they reached Harry. He looked at Ginny and then his sisters and nodded. Each one took a place around the box that held the furious man. They raised their right hands, placing them against the shimmering walls of the spell.

It was evident that they each wore an identical ring upon the fourth finger of their right hand. Each was infused with a different herb. The benzoin, cinnamon, frankincense and sandalwood quickly transfered from the rings to the box. The quartet then began to chant. "We call upon The Morrigan to take you where you are to go. We call upon The Morrigan to take you where you are to go." On and on the quartet went, soon they were surrounded by princesses, chanting along with their Mama the same words.

The box became smaller and smaller, encasing the now shrinking Voldemort inside. The more of the line who chanted, the stronger the spell became. The earth started to shake and a small tear in the ground below began to rip. The smell of sulfurous gas filled the box, and a faint howling sound could be heard from below.

Sirius had thrown himself at the man-beasts. They had embraced the wolf in them, never truly turning away from it even without the full moon. They didn't resemble the person that Sirius had known and loved in all but one day a month, before Remus had taken the cure. These were almost inhuman. He attacked with gusto, not only for the look of lust that they had in their eyes for his children's flesh, but for all the pain that he knew their kind had created for his dearest friend.

Thrashing against form after form, he would take them down, and Remus would stun and bind them. The rattling of the ground distracted him, and he turned his snout to look at the fissure that was opening in the earth, about to swallow Voldemort. He wasn't prepared for the blow that his body took, or the sensation that he had as he flew threw the air.

The hole in the earth grew, until it began to swallow Voldemort whole. With an unearthly bawl and a hiss, he was gone. The earth groaned as it sealed itself, the grass above the spot withering and dying before the four youngsters who had just rid the wizarding world of its greatest nemesis. It was only a familiar yet strangely wrong howl that moved their attention from the ground. They all lifted their heads to see Padfoot flying through the air.

He crashed to the ground, the great dog's head twisted in a way that they'd never seen before. Suddenly it was no longer a dog, it was their father, mentor, teacher and protector. Ellie's eyes went wide. She'd never seen such a thing happen. She took off in a run, her chest burning-- the mark feeling like it was being ripped off of her. The princesses went with her, preceding and protecting.

Before she could reach him, a spell cut across his chest, and blood began to seep from him to the ground. She looked around and found Raleigh cackling with laughter, her wand held high. She danced and laughed, mumbling something about finally freeing herself of the one that had ruined her family. Then she crumpled. Collinda was behind her, a stern but unrepentant look on her face.

Ellie fell to her knees at her husband's side. Sirius eyes were wide, and looking away and up to the sky. The blood didn't gush or spurt, it merely flowed from him. Remus tried to shield the girls, but it was too late, they had seen.

They all heard as Ellie wailed in her grief.

Then there was nothing...the air didn't move, no noise was heard. The world was simply black.

It was only Grace rushing out of the back door of the farm and her scream that alerted anyone that they were home.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: This is it, the end of the story of Ellie, Sirius, their children and the friends who made up their family. Several of you have asked for more stories with these characters, there might be a one-shot or two, but there will not be a continuation. This is a good place for me to stop and take on a new story arc. Late this spring, or early summer I will start up-loading my new Harry and Ginny centric story "Continuum", but I need to finish writing it first. P and D was the first and last time that I will ever be writing to solely update. **

**The personal journey that I took while writing this story is reflected in the arcs that the characters took. It wasn't until I finished writing it the other day that I realized just how much. "Knots" and "Prophecy and Destiny" will always remind me of the internal struggle that I had in dealing with my cancer. Perhaps that is the greatest gift that writing can give someone.**

**So, here it is, the finale. I hope that it lives up to your expectations, and I really would love to hear what you think. Thanks to all of you who have taken this journey with me. It means so much to me, and I still get excited when I look at the stats and see over 500 hits for a day, or a chapter getting 100 by itself. You have no idea how thrilled I am, and it is with most humble gratitude that I thank you for reading along. Several of you have become friends, and you can never have enough of those in life. ****Thank you to my betas, my dear husband who let me run ideas past him, and my children who were the inspiration for Ellie and Sirius daughters. God speed all of you, and I'll see you when the next story begins. MNF**

**Chapter 21:**

**Prophecy and Destiny Fulfilled**

**Midnight, December 31, 1995**

Sobs racked Ellie's body as she clung to that of Sirius. The sound that she made was unbearably sorrowful as she was screaming out to the universe, her soul being ripped in two. The children were all weeping, Harry and Ginny clinging to one another; Ainsley putting her head onto the bosom of Grace and Quinn being lifted by Uncle Remus. Seeing what was going on outside, Arthur had quickly cast a _Silencio_ charm, therefore protecting the sleeping youngsters from the noise and sorrow in the yard below.

No one could move, it was if time had stopped. Ellie's voice finally gave out, and her screams turned to pitiful moans and whimpers as she held her expired husband's body. She was still weeping, but the longer she did, it was as if more and more of her life was draining away into the bloodied and bruised man that she loved. Remus finally gathered his strength, handed Quinn off to Arthur, and went to Ellie.

"El, we need to move him," Remus whispered. "It's too much for the children."

"We can't," she told him through her tears, her voice little more than a whisper. "I can't breathe without him."

Remus wasn't sure what to do, she was indeed gasping for breath now as she sobbed. He had to wipe his own face as well, for lying at his feet was his closest childhood friend, his brother in all but name. In life, Sirius had always been a force of nature, but in death he looked so small.

"Ellie, please," he begged her, but she only clung to Sirius tighter, she had now moved her body so that it cover his whole torso, and her hands held onto his face, her fingers had closed his eyelids. The return to the farm and her embrace now had moved his head back to a more natural position, and he looked merely asleep, rather than dead.

Remus could hear Ellie chanting something, but her voice was so low he couldn't make it out, so he went and knelt at the far side of the body, reaching across to put a firm hand on her shoulder. He knew that it was up to him to get Ellie to release the body, so Arthur and his sons could carry it away, maybe to the barn and prepare it to be buried. As he listened to her small, hoarse voice, he couldn't make himself tear her away just yet.

"Heart of my heart, body of my body, soul of my soul, I love you, I love you always, I am clothed in your stain," she repeated over and over, slipping from the English into the Irish of her heritage. "Croi de mo croi, corp de mo corp, anam de mo anam, Is tú mo ghrá, Is tú mo ghrá i gcónaí, mé eadak bhur smál." On she went, sounding fainter and fainter, as if she was slipping away from this world. She finally stopped chanting, and in a weak voice, whispered: "I cannot live in a world where you do not exist."

Remus was genuinely fearful that she too was going to die, right here and right now from a broken heart. As he resolved to pull her away from Sirius, willing to take upon himself any anger or wrath that she might have over his decision, he looked at the pair once again. Ellie had her chest pressed up against Sirius', her mouth close to his ear as she whispered. It appeared as a lovers embrace, and his resolve wavered, unsure which would indeed kill her -- leaving her or tearing her away.

As he went to stand and try to move her he stopped and his knees slammed back into the ground. There was a faint glow coming up from her armor and down from the crown that still held to her head. Ellie went back to her chant, and the glow began to grow, now growing strong enough to attract the attention of her children. Several gasped at the sight, but Remus didn't know who, as he couldn't tear his eyes away from what he was looking at.

The glow grew brighter and brighter, shooting out from all over Ellie. Her hands were bright as they caressed his face. Remus gathered enough strength to stand, and when he did, his face traveled to each of the assembled family, all echoing his astonishment, and then to the faces of the princesses that surrounded them. He hadn't even realized that they were here, but each of them had serene smiles upon their mouths. It was as if they knew what was going to happen, some sort of blissful secret that they alone held.

As his eyes drifted downward, he saw that the glow had grown, and it now encompassed the pair, and the light was even a purer white than it had been before. He took a step back, as if it was too bright, too strong, too hot to be near them; and yet he was sure that they were not being burned by it.

The light began to draw back to the source, and as the brightness faded, he noticed a difference in the two, he couldn't place it, but he knew something had changed. Fear gripped him as he pondered if Ellie had indeed gone with her husband, and that her children were now orphaned. He resolved, knowing that Grace would agree, that his best friends children would be cared for by them and loved just as their parents had. As the light withdrew further, he saw Ellie's body rise and fall from breathing, and he breathed a sigh of relief that she had not died. He watched it closely, intent on seeing another breath. To his astonishment, it was not only Ellie's body that was lifting and falling as air moved in and out; but so was Sirius'.

He again made eye contact with Harry, who looked from the bodies up to meet his gaze. He must have seen it too, as he was perplexed and still filled with wonder. With the continuing retreat of the bright light, more and more of the family was astonished at what they thought they were seeing, but unable to believe that it could be true.

The light finally retreated fully, and Sirius face could be seen, and Ellie lifted herself enough to watch as his eyes flickered open. Ellie stared at him smiling, and yet slack-jawed at what had just happened. She knew that he was dead, she had felt him leave her; but now...he was...

Sirius eyes were open, and he looked around, disoriented, until his face met Ellie's, then it broke out into the most glorious of smiles. "How did you?"

"I don't know," she answered with a small kiss to his lips. She pulled herself off him, and went to sit. It was only then that she realized that his chest wound was now pouring fresh blood out of him. "Quinney, honey, we need you," she said with concern but not with fear. Ellie stroked Sirius' head and face, her gaze never breaking away from his.

Quinn wiggled herself away from Arthur, and dropped down to the ground, running over to her parents. "You know what you must do," Ellie said to her, and Quinn dropped to her knees and took out the ancient healing pouch from within her robes. She quickly rubbed it along the curse burn that was across her Papa's chest. Almost as fast as she did, the wound healed itself.

Sirius finally looked away from his wife, to his daughter. He sat with help from Ellie, and opened his arms to Quinn, who happily fell into them, hugging him tightly. Remus knelt again, putting a steadying hand on his friend's back, as he was fearful that the little witch's affections might knock him back to the ground.

At the sight, the rest of the children came forward, and Sirius embraced each of them. Grace came forward and wrapped a protective arm over Ellie's shoulder and she leaned into her best friend's embrace. The tears of the family had turned from ones of sorrow, to ones of rapture. After he had assured each of them that he was feeling fine, he turned to look at Ellie. His face turned to one of shock.

"Lolly, what happened to your armor? That wasn't there before!" he exclaimed. Everyone looked down, and there in the middle of her armor was a mark, a perfectly etched _Serch Bythol_, the intertwined triskeles that she had on her skin as the mark she wore for her love for Sirius.

"I have no idea," Ellie muttered in wonderment. It was only then that the Queen stepped forward to speak.

"Your magic, your faith, it has brought him back. The power of it burned through your armor, dear child," she said calmly, but Ellie looked even more confused.

"But, you can't return someone from the dead, there is no spell for that," Ellie replied.

"How little you still understand. Wasn't it you that proclaimed on that battlefield that 'Magic is not rooted in power, magic is rooted in love'?" she asked, and Ellie had to ponder what it was that was being said to her.

"You mean...love brought me back?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean," Maeve said calmly.

"But my wounds. Why weren't they all healed?" he asked her.

"Ellie's love healed the mortal wounds, the non-lethal ones would just have to be dealt with on their own," she said with a continued smile, and a nod of her head.

"How does that...wouldn't that mean that whenever a spouse dies, the other should be able to bring them back to life?" Harry asked, having recovered his composure, and going into his normal inquisitive and thoughtful self.

"Harry, it doesn't quite work like that," Maggie Potter came forward to speak. "What is between your parents here, it was...it is...written in the stars and blessed by the gods and goddesses. We knew that Sirius was coming long before he met my sweet Ellie."

"Mummy, what are you talking about?" Ellie asked her mother, and now it was time for Ainsley Hightower to speak.

"My dear sweet girl, before you were born, I had a vision of you, all grown up, standing next to Sirius, holding a baby girl while the apple blossoms were on the trees. I told your mother, and we both agreed that it was a secret best kept between us," she explained.

"That first summer day, when you brought Sirius home with you from swimming, your Grandmummy took one look at him, and knew that he was the one she had seen coming," Maggie took up the story. "You were six years old, and you had just met the love of your life. It was hard to know that you were little more than a baby yourself, and yet, you had already met the one that you were destined to be with." Ellie looked from her Mum to her Grandmum and then back at Sirius.

"I still...I don't understand," she stammered out.

"The universe ordained that you were made for each other, to ensure that your daughter would be born. You are soul mates, in the most true and pure form," the Queen explained. "You were either both going to go, or you would both need to stay. I'd say that you must still have work to do, since you are both here and breathing."

"It doesn't make sense, I don't understand..." Ellie admitted, her head and heart jumbled from all of the emotions that she was having.

"How about if we don't try to understand, Lolly? How about if we just believe?" Sirius questioned her, and a bright and joyful smile burst from her face.

"You're breathing and smiling at me, how could I do anything but believe?" was her answer, just before she leaned down to kiss him. Somehow, the familiar action caused the family to clap and cheer in joy.

* * *

News of Voldemort's defeat and the imprisonment or death of the remaining Death Eaters was met with great joy in Britain. Amelia took on the task of dealing with how the battle was reported in the media, taking special measures to play up the role that the other creatures had played, and especially the type of magic that had been used by the family to defeat Voldemort. She knew this was what would bring on the change that the Wizarding world so desperately needed.

Since the only ones that had seen Sirius die were their family and closest friends, news of his death and subsequent not–death was kept among the family. A few of the imprisoned Death Eaters had tried to tell others, but their stories were met with sniggers and passed over as the ramblings of those who had gone mad at the loss of their leader.

Ginny remained with Harry for a while, and then returned to the Burrow to be with her family. While she talked with Harry several times a day on their mirrors, it wasn't the same, and their separation was hard on them both. After two weeks of living at home, Arthur and Molly sent her back to Italy. After all that she had done, they only wished for her to be happy.

The family remained at the farm for the entire second term of the school year. There was too much attention on the children to send them back to Hogwarts. Their parents wanted to protect them from the scrutiny and give them a chance just to be children for a while. The lesson schedule was eased up greatly, and Ellie and Sirius gave them the choice of taking the International Wizarding Standard exams or not. All four chose to take them, just to see how they did. They were pleased with their grades.

Shortly before Harry's sixteenth birthday, the family moved back to England. It was decided that all four would return to Hogwarts together in the fall. The board of Hogwarts decided that given the advanced level of her magic training, and the role that she had played in the battle, Quinn would be allowed to enter school a year earlier than she would have normally been allowed. It seemed right that they would all be there, together.

On August first, the holy day of Lughnasad, the reigning princess of the line of Maeve and her two progeny went to address the Wizengamot. They had been invited this time, on this date, to begin fulfilling the rest of Ainsley's prophecy. As they walked in, they were followed by Sirius, holding his nearly one year old son and Harry. The Lupins and the whole Weasley family were in the gallery to watch as Ainsley rose to accept her destiny.

"The floor is given to the reigning princess of Maeve," Dumbledore told the assembled delegates as the session was called to order. A hush came through the room as everyone looked to Ellie. She gently smiled and began to speak.

"We thank all of you for your kind invitation today, and it is our honor and privilege to speak before you. We are here today, as it is one of the holiest days of our year and one that we should remember and celebrate as we were taught in the earliest days of our magic," she stated. She then stepped aside, yielding the floor to her daughters, the ones who would truly wear this mantle.

"We have gone astray. We have forgotten what we once knew," Quinn began to speak with far more poise than any ten year old should have. "I survived and ultimately escaped from those that would have enslaved us, not by power but by faith and an understanding of the magic of my heritage." Quinn stayed where she was, and grabbed her older sister's hand as Ainsley began to speak. Much had been made of Ainsley's gift of sight, and its use in the preparation for the final battle. Even at the mere age of thirteen, she was known as a powerful seer and mystic in her own right.

"I have had two visions of our people, of our future. In one, we continue as we have. Other's will rise and try to seize power, and we will again live in fear. We will insulate ourselves further, paying less and less attention to the world around us. We will ignore the sufferings of all other beings that inhabit our time and space. We will forget that we are intertwined, and it will be our downfall," Ainsley stated calmly. With the exception of her family, those who were listening were aghast. They had just seen their greatest enemy brought down, how could there be another at all like him in the future?

"The other vision that I have had is a brighter future. It is one where the magic that saved us from Voldemort is embraced, and we as a people remember our roots. We strive for equality, not just for witches and wizards, but for all, be they Muggle or Fairy or Elf. We will celebrate the days like today, with feasting and prayer. We will offer the gods and goddesses their remembrances, and pay homage to those that have lived and gone on. We will be a people who do not rule by power, but by compassion and understanding."

"Where we go now, what happens next, that is for us all to decide. We need to contemplate which future it is that you wish for my generation to inherit. I put before you today that as the ruling body of our world, the first step must be taken by you. There are laws on our books that have allowed one such as Voldemort to rise to power as he did. There has been a campaign of disinformation that has been allowed to go on for years concerning the Ancient Magics and Faith. This body must decide if it will allow it to continue, or if it will strive for change," Ainsley said with force.

"I know that there are many that look upon me as a child, but please remember, it was four children and that Ancient Magic that did away with the dark presence that haunted our existence. The stories of that day are true, what you have heard is real."

Ainsley bowed her head and stepped back, as her Mama came forward again. "We thank you for your time in hearing us today. I know that we have given you much to consider. With your permission, sir, I would ask that you allow us to withdraw, so that you could begin your deliberations."

"While I would grant you that permission, Princess Potter-Black," Dumbledore started, "I believe that it would be much more helpful if you, your husband and your son were to take your seats among us. You are all still members of this body, and your guidance and understandings in these matters could prove invaluable to us."

Ellie looked at her former teacher and mentor, and was struck by the tone of his voice and the words of his request. Something had changed between them, the long–held adversarial state had begun to fall, and Dumbledore had made the first move to heal their old wounds. Ellie needed to respond in kind.

"I believe that we can fulfill that request, sir," she replied with kindness in her voice. Ainsley took Johnny from her Papa, and she and Quinn went to sit with their Aunt and Uncle, while the rest rose up the stairs and took their seats. Ellie still stood out in her gown, crown upon her head, but seated between her husband and her son, she did not feel out of place.

"I believe that our first act should be the review of all current laws on our books, looking at them to see where we can improve our relations with others. Ms. Bones, may I call upon you to chair a committee that will review such matters?" Dumbledore asked.

"You may sir," Amelia replied. "Thank you for your trust in me."

Ellie reached for the hands of her husband and her older son, and then looked over at her daughters and sleeping younger son. So much had happened, they'd all been through more than it was still possible to comprehend. But yet, even through it all, she was living to see change in her world, change that had been foretold long before she or her mother, or her grandmother, or any of the many in her line had lived. This was a day over three hundred years in the making. That she had lived to see it astounded her, but it humbled her too. She closed her eyes, and said a prayer of thankfulness to all those who had led them to this place, and then asked for their guidance in what was to come. She opened them and looked at little Quinn, now squirming in her seat with excitement, and she knew that the world was indeed good. Very, very good.


End file.
